Online grocery shopping is a time-saver and now more families in the United States will have the ability to take advantage of the service. Amazon, FreshDirect and other online grocers will begin accepting food stamps as part of a pilot program conducted in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The plan, announced on Thursday, will give families participating in the families participating in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) the ability to order groceries online and have them delivered to their doorstep. The program, which will launch during the summer of 2017 and run for two years, will be available to SNAP participants in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Washington and Iowa.

Amazon, FreshDirect, Safeway, ShopRite, Hy-Vee, Hart's Local Grocers and Dash's Market are all partaking in the program. The firms selected for the pilot program represent a wide variety of options, ranging from national retailers to regional grocery chains and local offerings.

"Online purchasing is a potential lifeline for SNAP participants living in urban neighborhoods and rural communities where access to healthy food choices can be limited," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. "We're looking forward to being able to bring the benefits of the online market to low-income Americans participating in SNAP."

The primary challenge for the pilot program will be successfully executing online payment, which the USDA says presents "technical and security challenges" that require addressing before the program can be implemented nationwide.

SNAP users will only be able to use the assistance provided to purchase items they would be eligible to buy in a standard grocery store. The program also will not cover additional costs associated with the online service or delivery of goods.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, more than half of all working-age, non-disabled adults work while receiving SNAP and more than 80 percent work in the year before or after receiving SNAP. A government data analysis released in 2016 by the Economic Policy Institute found nearly 30 percent of the U.S. workforce receives public assistance such as food stamps and nearly half of those workers—19.3 million people—had full-time jobs.

Should the program prove to be a success, the USDA intends to add retailers and offer online ordering to SNAP participants across the country.

RELATED STORIES
Amazon