Kamau Witherspoon, CEO of Birmingham-based Shipt grocery delivery service, was slated to introduce three corporate programs to address food insecurity when speaking at the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health today.
As a panelist in a session on increasing access to affordable food, Witherspoon is introducing three new Shipt programs.
First, Shipt plans to launch an accelerator to support local retailers through capital, technical assistance for e-commerce and education from industry leaders. “Shipt will prioritize minority-owned businesses — and at least half of these retailers will be in the food, beverage, and grocery categories. Online shopping and delivery can play an important part in expanding access to food in underserved communities, particularly for those with mobility or transportation barriers,” the company said in announcing the initiative.
Second, the company plans to update its customer experience “to encourage health decisions and make meal planning easier for customers with specific dietary needs.”
Third, Shipt will continue its partnership with the University of Michigan as it researches the effect of making health foods more available to people with Type 2 diabetes.
“As a tech company that delivers groceries, partners with organizations across the country, and prioritizes food insecurity as a pillar of focus, Shipt is uniquely positioned to contribute to this conversation,” said Shipt CEO Kamau Witherspoon. “Shipt is delivering for the communities we serve by expanding access to healthy foods to those who need it most. These new initiatives are an essential part of our ongoing commitment to put people first and make a meaningful impact in parts of our country that have been left out or left behind. I’m looking forward to sharing more details about our new commitments to reduce food insecurity with the White House today and with our customers and community partners in the weeks and months to come.”
Shipt was founded in Birmingham by serial entrepreneur Bill Smith, who sold the company to Target in 2017.
