Dive Brief:

• DoorDash has added the ability to use SNAP EBT online payments for on-demand delivery of eligible grocery items as part of numerous updates to its app for consumers, merchants and workers, the company announced Wednesday. 
• Multiple grocery and retailer partners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Meijer, Aldi and 7-Eleven, will accept SNAP payments through DoorDash, making the payment capabilities available at more than 4,000 grocery and convenience locations nationwide, per the announcement. 
• This app update, alongside others, marks the biggest one in DoorDash’s 10-year history and comes at a time when DoorDash is positioning itself as a multi-category platform, company executives said at a media event on Tuesday. 

Dive Insight:

DoorDash will also offer SNAP recipients access to its DashPass membership, which provides free delivery on eligible orders, for free for two months. 

SNAP participants can currently use their food assistance benefits through DoorDash at nearly 900 Safeway and 380 Albertsons locations nationwide, per the announcement. Starting in July, more than 260 Meijer locations, more than 2,200 Aldi locations and over 130 7-Eleven stores will also add the capability. 

Offering SNAP EBT payments improves access to on-demand grocery delivery for vulnerable populations, including seniors, people living in food deserts and those facing disability or transportation barriers, Fuad Hannon, the company’s vice president of new verticals, said in a statement.

Rajat Shroff, DoorDash’s head of product, noted during the media event that SNAP is one of the “key features” DoorDash is turning to as its product team prioritizes affordability and accessibility for the products on its platform. 

“Making SNAP more and more available, more and more accessible is always something that you will see us continue to innovate on,” Shroff added. 

DoorDash joins Instacart in allowing customers to use their SNAP EBT benefits to pay for online orders. Instacart first started offering the payment option in late 2020 through its partnership with Aldi and has since expanded its availability through additional retail partners, including Jacksons Food Stores. Meanwhile, competitor Uber does not offer users the option to add EBT cards to their accounts. 

Customers can also now discover new items through customized carousels based on prior search history, Shroff said during the media event. 

DoorDash executives said Tuesday that the company now works with over 500,000 merchants, of which 100,000 are not restaurants. It has continually added new functions within the past year, including expanding its Drinks program to allow users to add c-stores and other retailer products to an existing order though DoubleDash. Last summer, it added new ways to rate, review and find local restaurants.