Rosie Expands SNAP Online for Independent Grocers
Dash’s Market, a family-owned grocery chain with four locations in and around Buffalo, N.Y., has become e-commerce platform Rosie’s second independent grocer to launch Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) online payments.
Rosie enables Dash’s Market to accept payments from households that rely on Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) benefits. With the U.S Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition’s (FNS) most recent expansion of the SNAP program to online platforms, this feature will allow recipients to take greater advantage of EBT SNAP payments at their local grocery stores.
“It is crucial that we offer our customers options when it comes to their online shopping experience,” said Alexa Dash, director of e-commerce at Dash’s Market. “The opportunity to offer SNAP Online removes financial barriers for families in our community, allowing all individuals to access healthy quality products.”
SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp program, provides food-purchasing assistance for families living in the United States. SNAP is a federal program, administered by USDA, under the FNS, although benefits are distributed by each U.S. state’s Division of Social Services or Children and Family Services. According to Rosie, more than 40 million Americans are estimated to have participated in SNAP annually in the 21st century. More than two-thirds of SNAP participants are families with children, while a third are households with senior citizens or people with disabilities.
Rosie’s technology and development teams have prioritized SNAP Online with the help of Rosie’s retailers, FNS and Fiserv since Rosie’s partner Dash’s Market was selected by the USDA in January 2017 to participate in the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot. Rosie’s participation ensured that retailers that select Rosie as their e-commerce partner can improve food access to all people.
“Locally owned and operated grocery stores like Dash’s Market can now compete with large national chains while maintaining their direct relationship with their online guests who have SNAP/EBT benefits. This new payment method provides an opportunity in the ongoing challenge to help expand food access to those in need,” said Dave Makar, chief customer officer at Ithaca, N.Y.-based Rosie. “We’ve seen enormous interest in SNAP Online payments from independent grocers who know this new software feature provides a direct service to their communities. We’re proud to expand our partnership with USDA to impact millions of SNAP recipients nationwide.”
Dash’s Market is Rosie’s second independent retailer partner to go live accepting SNAP payments online – just weeks after Davis Food & Drug in Utah launched. More Rosie retail partners are poised to launch in the coming weeks.
As a locally focused e-commerce company, Rosie partners with independent grocers and their wholesalers to provide a fully customizable branded e-commerce presence, delivery opportunities, omnichannel marketing and deep data services. Partners include Associated Food Stores, Associated Grocers Inc., Associated Wholesale Grocers, Bozzuto’s, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Piggly Wiggly Alabama Distributing Co. and URM Stores.
Rosie also recently launched its first retailer-branded mobile app. The first retailers to launch on the Apple and Google Play stores with a branded app are Crop’s Fresh Marketplace, a single-store operator located in Pennsylvania, and Gerrity’s Supermarkets, located in Pennsylvania with nine locations. Rosie is on pace to launch 75 more grocery stores by the end of the first quarter with its new white-label mobile app solution.
