Lyft, a San Francisco-based ride-hailing app, has partnered with the City of Atlanta to launch Access AgLanta, a six-month pilot "food desert" program.
Lyft will provide 300 families in Atlanta living in low income neighborhoods with limited access to groceries, with subsidized rides to and from grocery stores and farmers markets. For the pilot, Lyft will work with some community partners to identify the 300 families. Then, using geofencing technology, they'll bring them to participating grocery stores. The goal is to give families better access to healthier foods.
Each participating family will receive eight rides per month to these grocery stores at $2 per ride.
According to a 2017 U.S. Department of Agriculture report, 36 percent of Atlanta was classified as a food desert. By population in 2018, approximately 128,000 or 25 percent of Atlanta residents have to travel more than a half-mile to access fresh fruit and vegetables, according to a news release.
Finding proper transportation to groceries and farmers markets is another root cause of the food desert dilemma. Lyft's goal is to alleviate these transportation obstacles with the City of Atlanta.
“Everyone should have access to fresh and healthy foods, and we recognize that grocery shopping comes with many challenges in some neighborhoods,” Sam Bond, general manager of Lyft southeast, said in a statement. “We want to help give families access to the healthy foods they need by easing the burden of traveling to food retailers. We’re committed to working towards a future in which Atlanta residents can fully overcome these barriers.”
The City of Atlanta is partnering with Wholesome Wave Georgia, Georgia Farmers Market Association, Community Farmers Markets, local food markets and community organizations to grant citizens better access to healthier food. Participants in Lyft’s pilot program will be able to take full advantage of the “Georgia Fresh for Less” program administered by Wholesome Wave Georgia, whereby SNAP benefits can be doubled at participating farmers markets.
“Despite being a large metropolis, transportation remains a barrier for many of our most under-resourced families in Atlanta,” Denise Blake, president and CEO of Wholesome Wave Georgia, said in a statement. “This pilot program will provide much-needed relief and door-to-door service for families to access nutritious food right here in our city.”
The Atlanta pilot program was inspired by Lyft's recent fresh food access initiative in Washington, D.C.
