Lyft kicked off its Grocery Access Program late last year in Washington, D.C., with the goal of providing customers living in food deserts a cheaper way to gain access to fresh produce and staples. In partnership with non-profit organization Martha’s Table, Lyft launched discounted trips to grocery stores in DC’s Wards 7 and 8 and The Market at Martha’s Table before the program was expanded to Atlanta.
The transportation network company is now bringing that initiative to 14 more cities across the United States and Canada, offering a $2.50 flat fare ride to families who would make shopping trips to grocery stores. These cities are:
- Atlantic City
- Baltimore
- Chicago
- Columbus
- Detroit
- Indianapolis
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Ottawa
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Portland
- Richmond
- Toronto
In a blog post, Lyft said:
"Through this expansion, we look forward to partnering with local organizations and nonprofits to provide low-income families and seniors living in food deserts with deeply discounted flat fare rides to get to and from grocery stores. Affordable and reliable access to transportation can have a huge impact on this problem, and we want to help."
Of course, the program's fare rate will vary by market, although Lyft hopes it could improve the availability of healthy food to families in those cities. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, nearly 23.5 million individuals live in food deserts, with approximately half of them under the low-income level.
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