CHICAGO, IL - Esteemed grocery ally Instacart is leveraging its scale and reach to reduce food insecurity and support chronically ill consumers on the West Side of Chicago through a strategic alliance with Wellness West.

"Everyone should have reliable access to healthy and nutritious food, but today, far too many communities experience nutrition insecurity. Through Instacart Health, we're using the power of our technology to bridge the gap and ensure more families can put wholesome foods on their tables," said Sarah Mastrorocco, Vice President and General Manager of Instacart Health. "We're proud to partner with Wellness West to help families on the West Side of Chicago overcome barriers to access and get the foods they need to support their health and well-being."

Wellness West is a coalition of Chicago's health and safety-net institutions. Through this collaboration, the organization will launch a new "Food Connections" program, which will offer eligible Wellness West members a monthly grocery stipend of $79, delivered through Instacart Health Fresh. These funds can be used to purchase nutritious foods like fresh and frozen produce for delivery via Instacart.

As a press release explained, the digital stipend can be combined with other food benefit programs—such as SNAP or eligible supplemental health benefits—allowing members to complete their full shop in one order, creating a more convenient and accessible grocery shopping experience.

"We are very pleased to be joining forces with Instacart to advance the cause of health equity," said Misty Drake, Executive Director, Wellness West, who also serves as the Vice President, Client Serves and Growth, for Medical Home Network. "For the communities we serve, a whole person model of care that addresses social factors such as access to healthy food is essential. With this partnership, Instacart's state-of-the-art consumer-tech platform is brought to the mission of helping people across the West Side who are facing significant barriers to healthy dietary options."

Through the partnership, Wellness West will also align with Instacart to identify and engage small, local grocery stores on the West Side that are well-suited to launch online grocery ordering and delivery through its platform.

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