Free snacks for the vaxxed: Instacart announces summer of snacks sweepstakes
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NEW YORK (NewsNation Now) — Instacart is the latest company to create an incentive to encourage more Americans to get their COVID-19 vaccine with a possible summer of free snacks.
The company will give 200 winners each a $500 gift card. Entry requires listing the date you received your first vaccine and the clinic that gave you the shot.
Instacart said this effort is a part of their team up with the White House to encourage more Americans to get vaccinated. The White House hopes for 70% of Americans vaccinated with a first dose by July 4.
“Instacart is proud to join the White House’s effort to encourage more vaccinations in the U.S. so we can all gather safely around the table again and celebrate summertime with friends and family,” said Apoorva Mehta, Founder & CEO of Instacart.
The U.S. is currently at 65% of the population over 18 receiving a first dose according to the CDC.
Other corporations including United Airlines and Budweiser have launched their own prize giveaways to encourage vaccinations.
Instacart previously had created a financial assistance program to pay its shoppers a $25 stipend to get vaccinated so they don’t “have to choose between earning income as an essential service provider or getting vaccinated.”
According to Instacart, the company has paid $2 million to its contractors in vaccination stipends.
The company stated it employed more than 500,000 shoppers throughout the pandemic.
Instacart has had a booming business during the pandemic as millions of Americans turned to grocery shopping online. The company has also faced some scrutiny for its treatment of workers, especially since many of their contractors were going out on the frontlines amid the pandemic.
The company changed some of its practices related to PPE and sick days after receiving scrutiny and a resulting worker strike during the early months of the pandemic.
“Over the last year, Instacart has been deeply committed to supporting the health and safety of customers, shoppers and employees throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and today is another important step we’re taking to encourage the communities we serve to get vaccinated. With the Get Vaxxed For Snacks program, we hope to offer customers one more reason to get vaccinated so we can collectively bring this pandemic to an end,” said Mehta.
Instacart customers have until June 30 at 11:59 p.m. PST to sign up on the official website the official website.