Optimizing Online Purchasing of Fruits, Vegetables, and Legumes for Low-Income Families

At the onset of the intervention, all participants will receive tutorial videos via text, covering Instacart account setup, online item selection, and SNAP-eligible stores, aiming to improve digital literacy in grocery shopping. The video was developed by our team, reviewed by SNAP-Ed partners, and available in English and Spanish. Despite being considered helpful during the pilot, nearly half of the participants reported not receiving or watching the tutorial video. To address this, we will call all participants within the trial's first week to provide technical assistance, including step-by-step instructions on redemption of the free delivery membership. Phone follow-ups were well-received during the pilot. Also, an intervention package will be mailed to all participants as material to be referred to in the calls and throughout the intervention. Those receiving the grocery list component will receive shopping lists and recipes printed and via SMS, to aid online grocery ordering in si

All participants will receive a 12-week Instacart+ Membership e-gift card, eliminating the online delivery fee for orders \>$35.

Participants randomized to this component will receive 2 text messages weekly via EZ text to enhance their perception of behavioral control and trust in online grocery services. Text messages, deemed acceptable during our pilot, will be actionable, informed by constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior, and tailored to assist shoppers using Instacart delivery services. We will deliver 24 short text messages (\<160 characters), on Friday afternoons and Mondays, each with one or more of the purposes rooted in behavior change techniques: increasing salience of the benefits of online grocery, modeling steps in behavior change, giving facts to address mistrust or improve control, asking questions to promote engagement, adding anonymized quotations from the pilot participants to reinforce social norms.

"Participants randomized to this component (alone or in combination with another experimental condition) will receive $1 for each dollar spent on fresh, frozen, or canned FVL loaded onto Instacart Fresh Funds, verified based on the submitted online grocery receipt or data from Instacart. The incentive applies to online purchases only and will not be earned for in-store transactions. A maximum weekly matched incentive will be set to $10, following the local FV incentive NYC (Get the Good Stuff). Fresh Funds earned, supported by Instacart Health, is an infrastructure integrated with retailer payment systems. Incentives will only be used for purchases of healthier foods (FVL) predetermined by the research team, as it has been used by FV prescription programs."

Participants randomized to this component will receive weekly SNAP-Ed-based meal plans with instant shoppable grocery lists tailored to household size, dietary, and cultural preferences. All recipes will emphasize FVL-based eating patterns with Hispanic cuisine influences that have FVL as primary ingredients. Grocery lists organized by store department and recipe, will reflect the nearest available in-store unit. For example, if one recipe calls for 1 cup of flour, a small flour bag will be added to the list. Weekly meal plans will be shared via text as a photo and mailed as hard copies, with instant shoppable lists generated through Instacart's List feature as a hyperlink. Links to the instant shoppable list will be shared via text. Upon clicking, grocery items will be pre-filled automatically in the participant's online shopping cart. Participants can modify items and quantities before checking out.