Pear Suite and Instacart Partner to Increase Access to Food Resources for Medicaid Populations Across the Country
A six-month program incorporating Instacart Health Fresh Funds grocery stipends helped improve food access and reduce barriers to care, resulting in an 86% engagement rate between community health workers and Medicaid members.
Pear Suite, a digital health company empowering community health workers (CHWs), and Instacart (NASDAQ:CART), the leading grocery technology company in North America, today announced a partnership to bring food-as-medicine solutions to communities across the country. The collaboration will enable thousands of CHWs to address food insecurity and increase access to healthy and fresh foods for Medicaid members.
Pear Suite empowers thousands of CHWs nationwide with its AI-powered platform and administers the country's largest network of CHWs, providing user-friendly tools to better identify and address social determinants of health (SDoH) challenges, including food insecurity. Through Instacart Health, Instacart's initiative to improve nutrition security, make healthy choices easier, and scale food and nutrition programs with healthcare, the company offers technology to help ensure communities can access fresh and nutritious food from local, regional, and national grocers, with the convenience of same-day delivery.
The collaboration builds on a six-month pilot where CHWs integrated nutrition education, SNAP enrollment support, and online grocery and delivery services via Instacart and Instacart Health Fresh Funds into their outreach to engage over 3,000 Medicaid members. CHWs using Pear Suite's digital platform can now connect individuals and families with Instacart Health's technology – including Instacart Health Fresh Funds grocery stipends – directly within their care workflows. Since the partnership launched earlier this year, Pear Suite has seen that by addressing food insecurity, individuals are more likely to engage and discuss their needs with their CHW.
The pilot also revealed that one in five SNAP-eligible community members were not enrolled in SNAP, despite the wide availability of the program. In addition, 42% of clients reported rising grocery costs as a significant barrier, underscoring the need for more affordable food options and financial support provided by programs like SNAP and Instacart Health Fresh Funds. 42% of members also said they faced transportation barriers that online grocery and delivery via Instacart can help families overcome. Of those with critical food access needs, 150+ families were able to receive immediate support, resulting in an 86% engagement rate.
CHWs are also uniquely positioned to connect with and support those most vulnerable to food insecurity and related social challenges. Using Pear Suite's AI-powered platform, CHWs identified that 25% required housing assistance, 21% reported behavioral health needs, and 17% requested additional food support beyond groceries.
"This data is a powerful reminder that food access and other social determinants of health are not side issues—they are central to an individual's overall health and well-being," said Colby Takeda, co-founder and CEO of Pear Suite. "By equipping CHWs with the Pear Suite platform, we're enabling them to build deeper trust with members, address needs holistically, and deliver preventive care that not only improves lives but also drives meaningful cost savings for payors."
Through this partnership, CHWs using the Pear Suite platform will be able to seamlessly connect individuals and families to valuable food programs, such as Fresh Funds and medically tailored groceries, as well as nutrition education. Community-based providers will also be able to assist SNAP recipients with retaining this valuable benefit through timely work requirements reporting, amid recent policy changes.
"Community health workers are trusted advisors in their communities, helping people break down barriers and get the support they need to live healthier lives," said Sarah Mastrorocco, Vice President and General Manager of Health at Instacart. "We're building technology that supports this work by making it easier to connect people with fresh, nutritious food from trusted local grocers – quickly, simply, and at scale."
Through its health plan partnerships, Pear Suite already has access to support over 10 million Medicaid members across the country. As their provider network continues to expand, community health workers (CHWs) and other frontline public health professionals—including doulas, promotores, and peer support specialists—will help ensure families have reliable access to food, one of the most basic needs of whole-person care.
"We share Instacart's mission to drive measurable improvements in healthy food access, and we're excited that this partnership will ultimately help CHWs advance health equity across the communities they serve," said Takeda.
About Pear Suite
Pear Suite is a digital health company empowering community health workers (CHWs) to address the social determinants of health (SDOH), boost member engagement, improve health outcomes, and reduce the cost of care in a tech-enabled, person-centered way. Through Pear Suite's AI-powered social care navigation platform and provider network, CHWs can deliver high-quality coordinated care, measure outcomes, and secure reimbursement for services that address health needs. By partnering with hundreds of health plans, providers, and community-based organizations, Pear Suite has activated thousands of CHWs across the country and impacted more than 250,000 lives. For more information, please visit us at www.pearsuite.com.
About Instacart
Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,800 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from nearly 100,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart makes it possible for millions of people to get the groceries they need from the retailers they love, and for approximately 600,000 Instacart shoppers to earn by picking, packing and delivering orders on their own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers retailers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power their e-commerce experiences, fulfill orders, digitize brick-and-mortar stores, provide advertising services, and glean insights. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands – from category leaders to emerging brands – partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of purchase. With Instacart Health, the company is providing tools to increase nutrition security, make healthy choices easier for consumers, and expand the role that food can play in improving health outcomes. For more information, visit www.instacart.com/company, and to start shopping, visit www.instacart.com. Maplebear Inc. is the registered corporate name of Instacart.
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