Instacart Announces COVID-19 Vaccine Support Stipend Program Surpasses 15,000 Shoppers In First Six Weeks

Company Committed to Supporting Entire Shopper Community While Advocating for Early Access to COVID-19 Vaccine

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Mar 16, 2021, 14:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, March 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Instacart, the leading online grocery platform in North America, announced today that the company's COVID-19 Vaccine Support Stipend for shoppers reached more than 15,000 recipients since the program launched on February 1. As vaccines continue to be made available to individuals throughout the U.S. and Canada, Instacart encourages shoppers to get vaccinated in order to support themselves and their families while continuing to provide an essential service to communities. This program builds on Instacart's continued efforts to support the health and safety of the shopper community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Throughout the pandemic, the health and safety of the entire Instacart community has been our top priority. We're proud of the proactive steps we've taken to support our shopper community, including our Vaccine Support Stipend program designed to ensure that, when the time comes, Instacart shoppers don't have to choose between earning income as an essential worker or getting vaccinated," said Dilshika Wijesekera, Director of Food Safety at Instacart. "As the fight against COVID-19 continues, we're committed to advocating for shoppers to get access to COVID-19 vaccines so they can continue to serve as a lifeline for millions of people across North America. We're also continuing to work closely with federal, state, and local government officials to offer Instacart as a resource in the national response to the pandemic."

As shoppers continue to support our most vulnerable populations – including the elderly and immunocompromised – ensuring they can access the food, supplies, and prescription medications they need without leaving their homes, Instacart is also supporting shoppers with the health and safety supplies they need. In addition to the Vaccine Support Stipend, the company has also distributed over 730,000 health and safety kits at no cost to shoppers since the start of the pandemic, with more kits shipping every week.

Looking ahead, Instacart is committed to supporting the entire shopper community while continuing to advocate for early access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Last spring, Instacart worked closely with state and federal officials to ensure Instacart shoppers were considered essential workers as they continue supporting families and communities across the country in the wake of COVID-19. More recently, Instacart called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), all 50 governors, and state and local elected leaders to support those who have delivered life's necessities throughout the pandemic and follow the essential worker designation again by including grocery delivery workers for early access to the COVID-19 vaccines.

In addition, as part of its ongoing commitment to supporting its shopper community, Instacart introduced a number of health and safety tools for shoppers, including daily in-app wellness checks, free telemedicine consultations, a COVID-19 Resource Center, safety supply kits, health and safety guidelines, new sick leave policies, pay for those shoppers affected by COVID-19, and thank you bonuses to support shoppers. Throughout this pandemic and beyond, Instacart will continue to advocate for shopper safety, as well as promote and assist the wellbeing of communities across the nation.

About Instacart
Instacart is the leading online grocery platform in North America. Instacart shoppers offer same-day delivery and pickup services to bring fresh groceries and everyday essentials to busy people and families across the U.S. and Canada. Instacart has partnered with nearly 600 beloved national, regional and local retailers, including unique brand names, to deliver from more than 45,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. Instacart's delivery service is available to over 85% of U.S. households and 70% of Canadian households. The company's cutting-edge enterprise technology also powers the ecommerce platforms of some of the world's biggest retail players, supporting their white-label websites, applications and delivery solutions. Instacart offers an Instacart Express membership that includes reduced service fees and unlimited free delivery on orders over $35. For more information, visit www.instacart.com. For anyone interested in becoming an Instacart shopper, visit https://shoppers.instacart.com/.

SOURCE Instacart