Albertsons Teams With Uber to Recover Food for Those in Need

Grocer will use logistics network to transport excess food from stores to nonprofits, food banks

2/27/2024

Uber’s logistics network will transport excess food from Albertsons Cos. stores to nonprofits and food banks.

Delivery service Uber has revealed that it is working with its largest U.S. grocery partner, Albertsons Cos., to use Uber’s logistics network to transport excess food from supermarkets to nonprofits and food banks, beginning in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 44 million people struggled to feed their families in 2022, including 13 million children, a jump of nearly 45% from 2021. Research by The Brookings Institution also shows that digital technologies — including delivery apps like Uber Eats — can play a meaningful role by helping make fresh food available to millions who couldn’t have easily gotten it otherwise. Today, nearly 90% of Americans living in food deserts have access to digital food delivery services.

“At Albertsons Cos., we are committed to fighting food insecurity in the communities we serve,” said Suzanne Long, chief sustainability and transformation officer at Albertsons Cos. “We are thrilled to partner with Uber to create a reliable donation pickup program for our partner food recovery organizations, ensuring that the food donated from our stores gets to those in need.”

“We’re proud to have an opportunity to play a small part, using our technology and expertise to remove barriers for people facing hunger and food insecurity,” said Uber in a statement.

The initiative is part of the 2024 White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities. Additional efforts that Uber has committed to implement by 2025 to help more people access nutritious foods include the following:

Offering access to SNAP EBT grocery delivery to all eligible retail partners on the platform across the United States.
$0 delivery fees on all EBT SNAP orders for customers using a valid EBT card associated with their Uber Eats account in connection with their purchase for two months.
Embedding SNAP EBT eligibility and application information in the Uber Eats app to help increase access to and awareness of the SNAP program.
Enabling health providers and community-based organizations to order grocery items on behalf of their patients and members to deliver food as medicine using an integrated Uber Health and Uber Eats experience.
Using Uber Health, providers will be able to select fresh food options and will be able to pay for these items using patients’ existing benefits, including SNAP and health insurance plans.

As of Dec. 2, 2023, Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons operated 2,271 retail food and drug stores with 1,726 pharmacies, 401 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 19 manufacturing facilities. It has stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia under 24 banners, among them Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci's Food Lovers Market. Albertsons is No. 9 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its Retailers of the Century.