Hub on the Hill accepting EBT payments online

ESSEX | Essex-based Hub on the Hill (aka The Hub) is the first food hub in the nation to accept EBT SNAP payments through their online grocery store, thanks to a collaboration including local and national organizations and businesses. The Hub joins a total of just 30 SNAP online vendors in New York State, a group almost exclusively composed of large businesses such as Walmart and Amazon. "The Hub is very focused on increasing food access and building a regional food system in Northern New York, and already has an active e-commerce presence. We wanted to extend that to our customers receiving SNAP EBT benefits," said Jori Wekin, co-founder of the Hub on the Hill. "Navigating the USDA approval process to accept EBT online would have been difficult without the help of Forage, which guided us through preparation and testing. The Hub's ability to accept SNAP EBT online will make an enormous difference for the thousands of customers we serve, many of whom rely on government programs to purchase food." AdkAction, an organization focused on community development and sustainable environments in the Adirondacks, connected The Hub with payments processor Forage and e-commerce platform Grocerist to accomplish the project, and sponsored the work thanks in part to funding from New York Health Foundation. The nonprofit Hunger Free America also provided valuable guidance and assistance. "Rural grocery stores are struggling to stay afloat; the Adirondack region alone has permanently lost over a dozen brick-and mortar grocers in the past decade," said Sawyer Cresap at AdkAction, whose members and volunteers helped make this project a reality. "Online ordering and home delivery are promising solutions for rural food access, but only if underserved residents have access to pay with SNAP online. We've been proud to help The Hub build capacity to deliver farm-fresh groceries to the homes of thousands of Adirondack residents living in food deserts." To shop Hub on the Hill's online market, visit thehubonthehill.org/collections/online-market.

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Hub on the Hill accepting EBT payments online

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