NEW YORK CITY, NY - Both big-name brick-and-mortar grocers and their delivery partners are doing all that they can to meet climbing grocery demand. This week, one of the retail sector’s most popular partners, Instacart, announced its own plans to do its part, which will include hiring an additional 300,000 full-service shoppers across North America.

“Today, we have more shoppers on the Instacart platform than ever before. Given the continued customer demand we expect over the coming months, we’ll be bringing on an additional 300,000 full-service shoppers to support cities nationwide,” wrote Instacart Founder and CEO Apoorva Mehta in a press release. “As more people look for immediate, flexible earnings opportunities during this time, we hope that Instacart can be an additional source of income for those looking to earn while also delivering for the communities in which they live.”

Though grocery demand has gone through the roof, our industry has had to shift further into the online grocery space as consumers shelter in place and practice social distancing. This has led to an uptick in demand for online grocery and delivery across North America—a demand that many of our industry's leaders are meeting by transitioning their own operations and helping other businesses do the same.

"I want to share my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for the hard work that you’re doing to support communities throughout North America during this uncertain time. The last few weeks have been the busiest in Instacart’s history, and we’ve been proud to serve as an essential service for you and the millions of customers relying on you to deliver their groceries and household goods,” continued Apoorva. “Our teams are working around the clock to safely serve all members of our community, and we’re incredibly grateful for Instacart shoppers like you who have stepped up as household heroes during this time."

The delivery company’s latest move puts it in a class of many of the largest names in grocery, including Costco, Kroger, Walmart, and Amazon—all of whom have begun the process of mass hiring in order to combat supply chain challenges arising because of COVID-19 developments. Other retailers, like Albertsons and Lowes Foods, have even begun recruiting former foodservice workers in order to help many stay employed.

AndNowUKnow will continue to follow along with the latest news like this as it affects the fresh produce industry.

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