Flashfood Launches SNAP EBT Payment Option to Expand Food Accessibility

• Flashfood is the first discount grocery app to offer SNAP EBT, helping shoppers facing food insecurity to further stretch their grocery budgets.

• Integration of SNAP EBT, in partnership with Forage, enables Flashfood’s grocery savings app to become one of the most affordable ways to buy fresh food.

• Full rollout to all 876 U.S. Flashfood retail partner locations expected by end of year, beginning with all 262 Meijer stores throughout the Midwest. 

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DETROIT, Mich. (March 21, 2023) – Flashfood, a digital marketplace that connects consumers to heavily discounted food nearing its best-by date, in partnership with Forage, today announced the addition of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) electronic benefits transfer (EBT) as a payment option within the Flashfood app. With more than 10% of U.S. households facing food insecurity (USDA), Flashfood is breaking down barriers to evolve how EBT can help people gain greater access to affordable groceries – an important step in the company’s mission to make high quality, fresh food more accessible to families while reducing retail food waste.

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Today, one in eight Americans (41 million people) receive government assistance to buy their groceries (CBPP). While less than 200 grocery retailers offer SNAP EBT online purchasing, 50,000 retailers in the U.S. accept SNAP EBT in physical locations, even though many Americans shifted to online grocery shopping during the pandemic. 

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Shoppers can browse the Flashfood marketplace to buy heavily discounted food items directly on their phone as a way to save up to 50% off high-quality items nearing their best-by date, such as meat, dairy, seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables, bakery items, center-store foods and more. Purchases by credit card and SNAP EBT are made directly through the app for shoppers to then pick up from the Flashfood Zone located inside their participating store.

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“We want to make healthy, high-quality groceries an affordable reality for every American family and adding SNAP benefits to Flashfood gets us one step closer to that vision,” said Flashfood Founder & CEO, Josh Domingues. "Our work with Forage will help millions of people to get the most out of their benefits by increasing their purchasing power. We’re eager to improve accessibility to Flashfood by adding SNAP EBT as a payment method, and we’re excited to launch this first at Meijer, who’s been a valued, long-standing partner for us.”

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Flashfood’s SNAP EBT rollout began in February with Meijer’s Greenville, Mich. location, and has now expanded to all 262 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. SNAP EBT payment will soon be offered through all Flashfood U.S. grocery partners as the technology is integrated in the coming months.

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“As a company committed to enriching lives in the communities we serve, we’re pleased to be the first retailer to expand our Flashfood program in this way,” Meijer President & CEO Rick Keyes said. “Feeding people has always been at the heart of what we do, and this is another way Meijer is working to provide extra value to those customers who need it most.”

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To date, 2.5 million people have downloaded and used Flashfood, and with SNAP EBT becoming available, that number is expected to double. The app has saved shoppers over $170 million on their grocery bills since the company’s founding and regular Flashfood shoppers save more than $540 per year on average.

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"We are incredibly proud to be partnering with Flashfood & Meijer to provide affordable, healthy groceries to low-income Americans,” says Ofek Lavian, Co-Founder and CEO of Forage. “Our mission-aligned partnership will enable millions of families across the country to purchase groceries at a fraction of the cost using SNAP EBT as a payment method."

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About Flashfood

Flashfood is an app-based marketplace that strives to eliminate retail food waste by connecting consumers with discounted food nearing its best-by date. The mobile app operates in over 1,600 grocery locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Shoppers can buy items from grocery retailers through the Flashfood app and pick them up in-store at great prices while collectively reducing food waste. To date, Flashfood has diverted over 65 million pounds of food, saved shoppers over $175 million and more affordably fed hundreds of thousands of families. Flashfood is currently working with The GIANT Company, Meijer, Tops Friendly Markets, Loblaw, Martin’s Markets, VG’s, Family Fare, Giant Eagle, Giant Food, Ren’s Pets, Save A Lot and Stop & Shop. Flashfood is a free app available on iOS and Android. For more information, please visit www.flashfood.com.

About Forage
Forage is a payment processor making it easier for retailers to accept SNAP EBT (food stamps) and Cash EBT payments online. With its inhouse team of experts, Forage brings to the online EBT space a technology-first approach, offering cloud-based technology with retailer-friendly interfaces. Forage also provides end-to-end support with value-added services for retailers, including joint project managing the USDA application process for online EBT authorization, and providing go-to-market services, advising and supporting retailers on how to build a meaningful EBT business and positive customer experience. Forage’s founders created the company to increase access to food by enabling consumers to use their government benefits online. Forage works with multiple grocers and platforms such as Shopify and Flashfood to accept SNAP EBT payments online. For more information visit joinforage.com.

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