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What is AmazonFresh and How Does It Work?

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In this post, we will explain what AmazonFresh is and how AmazonFresh works. You have probably heard that Amazon has been approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to start accepting food stamps/EBT online for eligible food purchase.

As a result, we’ve been getting questions from our readers about AmazonFresh and whether Amazon is accepting EBT for AmazonFresh purchases. Here is a detailed review of everything you need to know about AmazonFresh and how to sign up for a FREE 30 day trial.

"What is Amazon Fresh?"
Amazon

This post will cover:

  • What is Amazon Fresh?
  • How AmazonFresh Works
  • What is the Cost of AmazonFresh?
  • How AmazonFresh Delivery Works
  • Pros and Cons of AmazonFresh
  • Does AmazonFresh Accept EBT?
  • Sign up for Amazon Prime EBT Discount
  • Does AmazonFresh offer a free trial?
  • AmazonFresh Videos

What is Amazon Fresh?

AmazonFresh is a grocery delivery and pickup service available exclusively to Amazon Prime members. As of March 2019, the service is available in major cities, including the following:

  • Atlanta
  • Baltimore
  • Boston
  • Chicago
  • Dallas
  • Denver
  • Los Angeles
  • Miami
  • New York City Metro
  • Northern Virginia
  • Philadelphia
  • Sacramento
  • San Diego
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle

Prime members in these cities can shop for groceries, everyday essentials, favorites from local shops and restaurants, and more with AmazonFresh.

You can choose between attended delivery and unattended delivery, with Pickup options in select cities.

How AmazonFresh Works

Now that you know what AmazonFresh is about, here is how AmazonFresh Works.

What can I buy on AmazonFresh?

You can buy all the groceries and food you will typically find at your local grocery store on AmazonFresh. This includes fruits, vegetables, canned goods, condiments, packaged snacks, raw meat.

In addition, you will have access to approximately 1,000 Whole Foods products as well.

This is how Amazon categorizes its Fresh merchandise:

Groceries: Whole Foods products, produce, prepared foods, deli, dairy, frozen foods, meat & seafood, meal kits, beverages, breads, snacks, etc.

Household, Health & Beauty: Cleaning supplies, over-the-counter essentials, personal care items, baby products, and pet supplies

Local Market: Local products, such as prepared meals, pressed juice and baked goods, delivered right to your door with the rest of your AmazonFresh order.

What is the Cost of AmazonFresh?

AmazonFresh is $14.99 a month and is only available to Amazon Prime members.

This means that to get started with AmazonFresh, you’ll first need to obtain an Amazon Prime membership, which costs $12.99 for a month.

However, as you may be aware, Amazon offers a more than 50% discount on Amazon Prime for EBT Cardholders – which brings the cost of Prime to $5.99 for EBT Cardholders. To sign up for the Amazon Prime discount, click here.

"How does Amazon Fresh Work?"
Amazon

How AmazonFresh Delivery Works

Although AmazonFresh has pickup options in some cities, the main draw of the service is having groceries delivered to your home.

You can choose to be present at the time of the delivery or have Amazon leave the items at your doorstep.

You can place an order in the morning for same-day service or order your groceries at night and have them delivered in the morning.

Once you have selected the groceries you want to buy, you will be prompted at checkout to reserve a delivery time. You can choose same-day or next-day delivery based on what works with your schedule.

You can also select from “Doorstep Delivery,” which is a three-hour delivery window where you don’t have to be at home, or “Attended Delivery,” which is a one-hour window that requires you to be available to take the delivery.

"Amazon Fresh EBT"
Amazon

Pros and Cons of AmazonFresh

Here are the advantages of having an AmazonFresh membership.

Convenient delivery times: The service allows you to schedule the delivery time that is most convenient for you.

Fresh Produce: The groceries are also delivered in insulated packaging and reusable totes to help guarantee freshness.

More Choices: You can purchase household and beauty products too, in addition to supermarket essentials and specialties from local shops and markets.

Here are the disadvantages of AmazonFresh

Cost: To get started with AmazonFresh, you’ll first need to obtain an Amazon Prime membership, which costs $12.99 for a month ($5.99 for EBT Cardholders).

Once you have Amazon Prime, you will then have to pay an additional $14.99 a month for AmazonFresh.

Limited Coverage: The service isn’t available everywhere but in most big cities.

Does AmazonFresh Accept EBT?

Not Yet. However, Amazon.com is getting ready to accept EBT for purchases online starting in 2019. That’s according to an update from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Amazon is one of the retailers selected for a USDA pilot that began in January 2017 that allows select retailers to offer EBT Cardholders the ability to purchase eligible food online and pay with their EBT Card.

Since AmazonFresh is a grocery delivery service, only Amazon Prime customers who also have AmazonFresh will be able to use the service.

Therefore if Amazon begins their EBT online purchase program and extends it to AmazonFresh, you will still need an Amazon Prime account to use your EBT Card on AmazonFresh.

Sign up for Amazon Prime EBT Discount

If you are an EBT cardholder, here is great news from Amazon.com. You can get Amazon Prime for $6.99 a month. That is more than a 50% discount from the regular price of $14.99 a month.

If you are not familiar with Amazon Prime and all the amazing perks and benefits that come with it, see our article here. Sign up for Amazon Prime EBT Discount, or click the button below to do so.

Sign-up for Amazon Prime EBT Discount HERE!

NOTE: You need Amazon Prime to sign up for AmazonFresh. If you have an EBT Card and want to sign up for the AmazonFresh free trial below, you should FIRST sign up for Amazon Prime (click on the link and button above).

If you do not sign up for Amazon Prime before you sign up for AmazonFresh, you will automatically be signed up for a FREE Amazon Prime 30-day trial. After the 30 days, if you don’t cancel, you will be charged $12.99 a month for Amazon Prime and $14.99 a month for AmazonFresh.

Does AmazonFresh offer a free trial?

Amazon offers a FREE 30-day trial of AmazonFresh. You’ll automatically be upgraded to a paid membership at the end of your trial period unless you cancel. To sign up for the 30-day FREE trial of AmazonFresh, click here or click on the button below.

Try AmazonFresh for 30 Days FREE!

Amazon Fresh Videos

The videos below explain how AmazonFresh works.

If you have any questions about how AmazonFresh works, you can ask us in the comments section below.

If you found this post on “What is Amazon Fresh and How Does it Work?” helpful, help us spread the word by sharing it using the “Share this” button below.

Kwame Kuadey

Kwame Kuadey writes about personal finance and the social safety net. His career started in banking but he caught the entrepreneurial bug and has spent the last decade building successful businesses, including an Inc. 500 Company. Kwame believes everyone has the power to improve their quality of life by seeking knowledge and taking action. In 2012, Kwame founded Empower Media to help low-income households improve their financial situation. His expertise is in topics relevant to low-income households, including government benefits and assistance, banking products, access to credit, plus tools & resources to help reduce income volatility and build wealth. Kwame has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc. Magazine, Washington Post, ABC, and NPR.

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