by
Meijer at 8 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue.
Bringing chain grocers to Detroit is one thing. Assuring that shoppers without cars can reach them is another matter.
Meijer and an Ann Arbor nonprofit are trying to address that issue.
Detroiters living within five miles of either of the city’s two Meijer stores -- one at 8 Mile and Woodward, and the other on Grand River at West McNichols -- are eligible for $10 round-trip rides to the stores as part of a pilot program through March 22. (To see if you qualify, check a list of 27 Zip Codes here.)
The discount service via Lyft is available between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. any day for up to four passengers per vehicle. A smart p[hone is needed for booking and payment during Mejier checkout.
The offer comes from Cart, a University of Michigan "social innovation" startup that works to connect low-income shoppers to healthful, fresh groceries.
“Cart’s goal is to connect individuals who do not have ready access to transportation with a safe, timely and low-priced round trip ride to a grocery store,” Cart CEO Stacey Matlen says in a statement. “Customers who spread the word about Cart to family and friends will be eligible to earn free trips to the store during the pilot.”
Greg Wnuk, chief operating officer of Cart, tells Deadline Detroit that the rides actually cost around $20 for a round trip, and Meijer will cover half so that it's $10.
The nine-week service tryout began Sunday.
► Register here by entering your phone and following the instructions.
► Who qualifies: 27 eligible Zip Code areas are listed at the same link.
