(DailyDig.com) – Starting February 26, Thrive Market, an online grocery store, will accept the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps.
The announcement from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the organization that oversees SNAP, states that many of the recipients live in areas where they have difficulty finding groceries of high quality. Experts often refer to these areas as food deserts.
Over the last decade, studies and trials involving pilot programs to bring this online grocery shopping experience to SNAP recipients to deal with the need for healthy foods have resulted in this new venture. Some of the trials included using retailers that have grocery stores and online services.
Thrive Market, offering high-quality foods for only online purchases to be delivered to the home, started in 2014. They offer a wide variety of frozen foods, meat, and staples for every pantry. The company explains that they will accept SNAP payments from participants within the contiguous US states.
The online grocery store also announced that they would waive their normal annual fee of $60 for SNAP participants. This service is similar to their memberships for needy families, “Thrive Gives,” which offer free memberships.
According to Nick Green, CEO and co-founder of Thrive Market, they expect to serve many families across the US, as over one-third of SNAP participants are children. He said that since they opened their business, their mission has been to provide healthy food for everyone in order to live a healthy life.
Green added that most low-income individuals have some type of access to the internet, usually because of their smartphones, so being able to order their food online for home delivery is less of a problem.
Thrive Market’s business mission, according to Green, is the same as any company: to provide a quality service while making enough revenue for the business. For SNAP recipients, they don’t pay for their membership, but they do purchase their products. They also fulfill their mission by providing services for those in need.
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