Introducing the Instacart Shopper Relief Fund: Support When It’s Needed Most

At Instacart, shoppers are the heart of our community. Every day, shoppers show up for customers to help keep households running and communities connected. While shopping offers flexibility and opportunity, we also want to be there for shoppers when they face unexpected hardships and support is needed most.

That’s why we’re introducing the Instacart Shopper Relief Fund, a new program designed to provide financial support to eligible shoppers impacted by natural disasters such as fires, hurricanes, floods, or earthquakes.

Supporting Shoppers When It’s Needed Most

Natural disasters can cause sudden displacement, property damage, and financial strain. The Shopper Relief Fund is here to help ensure eligible shoppers have access to support during these difficult moments — whether that means covering evacuation expenses, addressing immediate needs, or helping begin the process of recovery and rebuilding.

Through this program, qualifying shoppers may receive up to $2,000 in financial assistance per calendar year following a verified, disaster-related hardship.

How the Fund Works

The Instacart Shopper Relief Fund is administered through a trusted third-party partner, Canary, which will review requests and issue funds directly to approved shoppers. This independent process helps ensure timely, fair, and confidential distribution of assistance. Shoppers can visit https://instacart.grantcircles.org/ to request funds.

To qualify for assistance through the Shopper Relief Fund, shoppers must:

• Be an active shopper on the Instacart platform

• Be a current Cart Star shopper at the Gold, Platinum, or Diamond level

• Have completed a minimum of 7,500 lifetime orders on Instacart

• Be personally impacted by a qualifying natural disaster, including providing verification materials, such as receipts, evacuation notices, or official disaster documentation

• Request assistance within 90 days following a qualifying event

Our Commitment to the Community

The Shopper Relief Fund reflects our ongoing commitment to stand with shoppers during difficult moments, offering support when it’s needed most. We hope it provides meaningful assistance as shoppers navigate recovery and rebuilding after a natural disaster.

This program builds on our broader efforts to support communities during times of natural disaster. Most recently, during the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, we activated Community Carts to enable donations to more than a dozen YMCAs and launched Classroom Carts to support nearly 15,000 students impacted by the fires. 

We’re grateful for everything shoppers do, and we’ll continue working to find new ways to support you while you shop and beyond.