​The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the way many people shop for food. An estimated 60% of shoppers now purchase groceries online and polls suggest that consumers plan to continue online shopping as pandemic safety improves. Still, online grocery options are limited for many SNAP Quest EBT shoppers in Arizona, especially those living in rural areas. There are many Arizona internet grocery retailers hoping to offer online payments to their SNAP customers but the complex authorization process, need for sophisticated eCommerce capabilities, and the added third party merchant fees pose significant challenges for small retailers. 

Activate Food Arizona (AFA), supported by Vitalyst Health Foundation, is developing a Roadmap for Expanding SNAP Online in Arizona that charts a path for ensuring a level playing field for diverse grocery retailers and SNAP recipients in Arizona. USDA’s SNAP Online Purchasing Program is still in its pilot phase, thus AFA sees the Roadmap project as an ongoing process of staying informed on policy and best practices, building and informing a network of interested stakeholders, connecting retailers to available technical assistance, and supporting the conditions needed for the successful expansion of SNAP Online in Arizona.
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Spotlights

These brief Spotlight documents highlight some healthy internet grocery providers in Arizona and point to some key factors needed for the successful expansion of SNAP online purchasing with small retailers in our state.
This in-depth Technical Report provides an overview of how SNAP EBT transactions work online and how retailers can become SNAP Authorized Internet Retailers. The Technical Report also outlines the key success factors our collective efforts can focus on in order to support the equitable expansion of SNAP online purchasing in Arizona.