Gong’s Market Made Online SNAP EBT History with Grocerist
Learn how Gong’s Market, Grocerist and Forage brought online SNAP EBT payments to a single-store independent California grocer in 2022.
Grocerist
September 15, 2022
In September 2022, Gong’s Market reached an important milestone for independent grocery ecommerce.
The family-owned California grocer received USDA approval to accept SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) payments online. At the time of the announcement, Gong’s Market became the first single-store independent grocer in California approved to process SNAP EBT payments through its ecommerce site.
Grocerist powered the Shopify-based online grocery experience, while Forage supplied the USDA-authorized online EBT payment technology.
Online access was no longer limited to large grocery chains
Online SNAP EBT purchasing had largely been associated with national and regional retailers. The Gong’s Market launch showed that a single-location independent grocer could also provide eligible customers with a secure way to shop and pay online.
That mattered because online grocery access was increasingly part of everyday retail. Customers using SNAP benefits deserved the same ability to browse products, build an order and choose a convenient fulfillment method as other online shoppers.
For independent grocers, the milestone demonstrated that modern ecommerce and online EBT acceptance did not have to require the resources of a large enterprise.
How the solution came together
The launch connected three essential parts of the customer experience:
Gong’s Market provided the local assortment, customer relationships and grocery operation.
Grocerist powered the food-commerce storefront and operational workflows on Shopify.
Forage provided the technology needed to process SNAP EBT payments online.
Together, the partners created a path from online shopping to secure benefit payment while allowing Gong’s Market to maintain its independent identity.
A practical milestone for independent grocers
The approval was more than a technology announcement. It was proof that a community grocer could bring an important payment option into a modern online shopping experience.
For Grocerist, the launch reinforced a central part of its mission: helping independent food retailers gain access to ecommerce capabilities that had historically been easier for much larger organizations to deploy.
The milestone also provided a model for other grocers evaluating online SNAP EBT. Approval still required working through USDA requirements, but Gong’s Market showed that the result was achievable on an independent, Shopify-based grocery site.
Expanding access through better grocery technology
When payment access, ecommerce and grocery operations work together, independent retailers can serve more customers without giving up what makes their businesses local.
Gong’s Market’s 2022 approval was an early example of that possibility—and an important step toward making online grocery more accessible.
More than a panel
The 2024 NGA Show also marked Grocerist’s presence on the exhibition floor with its own booth.
The team met merchants already using Grocerist, spoke with independent grocers exploring the next stage of their ecommerce businesses and connected with current and prospective partners. Those conversations offered a direct view into the operational problems retailers wanted to solve—and new ways Grocerist and the wider industry could work together.
Thank you to the ShopToCook team for inviting Matt to participate, to the other panelists for a thoughtful discussion and to everyone who visited the Grocerist booth.
We left Las Vegas encouraged by the future of independent grocery and excited to help more food retailers connect their digital and in-store businesses.
Bring SNAP EBT to your online store
Explore how Grocerist connects food ecommerce, grocery operations and approved payment technology.