Opinion | How grocery delivery can alleviate food insecurity in Michigan

Food insecurity has become an urgent crisis in Michigan due to the dual forces of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic recession. Layoffs, reductions in income, and risk of virus exposure at grocery stores have all contributed to increasing food insecurity around the country and in Michigan. Food pantries have been overwhelmed with increasing demand. Now more than ever is the time for bold action to combat food insecurity. Free, publicly funded, home grocery delivery for food insecure adults and families could combat food insecurity using simple and widely available technology. Creating access to free grocery delivery for the low-income, nutritionally at-risk participants in Michigan’s public nutrition assistance programs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), could improve the reach of these programs, while also helping to protect participants from the risk of COVID-19 exposure.

Well before the pandemic, grocery delivery in the United States was a steadily growing industry, with many grocery chains launching websites and mobile apps for online ordering and delivery services offering fresh groceries delivered right to your doorstep. However, over the last six months, grocery delivery has seen an enormous surge in popularity, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending online grocery shopping as a common-sense strategy to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19. This has resulted in increasing numbers of grocery delivery orders placed and larger amounts spent per order on both national grocery delivery platforms (Instacart, Peapod or Walmart Grocery) and locally-based grocery delivery platforms, such as the Grand Rapids-based Doorganics.

Publicly funded grocery delivery represents a feasible yet innovative way to expand the reach of Michigan’s public assistance programs to support families facing food insecurity. As of May, in an effort to improve food access during the pandemic, Michigan SNAP beneficiaries began participating in a national pilot to allow use of SNAP benefits to purchase groceries online for the first time. This is great news for the almost 1.2 million Michiganders (nearly 1 in 8) who receive SNAP benefits — they now have one more option to obtain their nutrition benefits. Although this new rule allowing online grocery shopping will likely increase convenience, there’s a key drawback that may limit its impact: Federal rules stipulate that SNAP participants cannot use their benefits to pay for the cost of grocery delivery. Instead, online grocery purchasers can either receive their groceries through drive-by pickup at grocery stores, which may be impossible for participants without access to a car, or by paying out-of-pocket for the added cost of grocery delivery (about $5-$15 per order). When compared to the modest monthly food budget that SNAP participants receive (about $120-$140), the out-of-pocket delivery fees may be prohibitively high. Meanwhile, participants in the WIC program are still prohibited from using nutrition benefits for online purchase. The next step to improve food access is allowing grocery delivery costs to be paid for by the SNAP and WIC programs.

Grocery delivery for SNAP and WIC recipients could not only improve access to food and decrease the risk of COVID-19 transmission, but it could also potentially pay for itself through reduced health care costs. Food Assistance Programs like SNAP and WIC have already been shown to be cost-saving programs. Both programs enroll large numbers of medically vulnerable patients, and by improving the health of participants through reliable access to healthy foods, these programs are able to save money by reducing health expenditures. This cost-saving effect may be especially salient during the pandemic, since food assistance programs enroll high numbers of participants considered most at risk from COVID-19, including senior citizens and patients with chronic diseases. What’s more, both SNAP and WIC also serve a disproportionately large number of Michigan’s racial and ethnic minorities, who have suffered from a combination of health and economic disparities related to the pandemic, experiencing high rates of COVID-19 infection and death, as well as high rates of job loss since the pandemic started. Grocery delivery represents a significant way to help vulnerable groups gain vital access to food in the midst of pandemic and recession conditions.

Grocery delivery is a widely available option for grocery shopping that has become a major way that Michiganders grocery shop during the COVID-19 pandemic. But we can also use grocery delivery to combat food insecurity— by providing grocery delivery services for all of Michigan’s SNAP and WIC participants.

Ione Locher is a dual-degree MD/MS student at the University of Michigan, Marika Waselewski is a research specialist at the University of Michigan Department of Family Medicine and Dr. Tammy Chang is a family physician and an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.