Food vouchers and online purchases are about to mix

by ANNE D 'INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) – Amazon and Walmart Thursday launched a two-year government pilot program allowing low-income buyers benefiting from the government's food aid in New York to buy and sell. to pay for their online purchases for the first time.

ShopRite will join the two retailers participating in the program early next week, announced the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The USDA has long been asking customers who use electronic profit transfer, or EBT, to pay for their purchases at the actual time and place of sale. This move marks the first time that SNAP customers can pay for their purchases online.

ShopRite and Amazon provide service in the New York area, and Walmart provides online service in the northern locations of the State of New York. The agency said the pilot project will eventually expand to other parts of New York, as well as to Alabama, Iowa, Maryland, the United States, and the United States. Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington.

The pilot program will test both online orders and payments. SNAP participants will be able to use their benefits to purchase eligible food products, but will not be able to use SNAP to pay for service or delivery fees, the agency said.

"People benefiting from SNAP benefits should have the opportunity to buy their food in the same way that more and more Americans buy food – by ordering and paying for their purchases online," said the secretary of the USDA, Sonny Perdue. "As technology advances, it is important that SNAP also advance in order to ensure that the same purchase options are available to non-SNAP and SNAP recipients."

Lost said he would monitor how the pilot program will improve access to food and customer service, especially for those who have difficulty getting to physical stores.

About 38 million people receive food stamps in the United States, according to the USDA. According to the latest data from the USDA, nearly $ 52 billion, or 82% of all food voucher dollars, were spent in big box stores and food chains. grocery store, in 2017.

The 2014 Farm Bill allowed the USDA to conduct and evaluate a pilot online shopping program prior to national implementation. The USDA said the initiative was aimed at ensuring that online transactions are handled safely.

Amazon, based in Seattle, said that qualified people did not need to be premium members to buy groceries with their benefits. They will have free access to its AmazonFresh service, which supplies meat, dairy products and fresh produce to buyers' doors. And they can also use Prime Pantry, which delivers packaged products such as cereals and preserves.

However, they will have to spend more than an amount to get free shipping: $ 50 on AmazonFresh and $ 25 on Amazon.com. The online shopping giant has launched a website, amazon.com/snap, allowing users to check if they meet the requirements. Amazon said they are collaborating with the USDA to expand its service to other parts of the state of New York.

Amazon.com Inc. was on the initial list of the government's pilot program, and Walmart Inc. of Bentonville, Arkansas, listed the list later. By the end of 2017, however, the world's largest retailer had begun allowing customers in limited locations to order items through its online grocery store pick-up service and then pay for them in-store.

"Access to the convenience and quality of fresh groceries should not be dictated by the way you pay," Walmart said. "This pilot program is a big step forward and we look forward to extending it to customers in other states where we already have an excellent online grocery store."

Walmart said nearly 300 grocery store sites in the states will be part of the USDA's government program.

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AP Retail Editor Joseph Pisani in New York contributed to this report.