Appetite For Accessibility August
We all need to eat, and we all need access to information and tools. From package directions and recipes to apps for grocery shopping and food ordering, lack of non-visual accessibility to information and tools can create barriers for us. This month, we share non-visually accessible tools and explore applications to break down those barriers so that we may satiate our Appetites for Accessibility!
- August 6: Accessing Food Package Information
- August 13: Grocery Shopping Apps – What’s Out There and How To Use Them
- August 20: Recipe Websites – What’s Out There and How Useful Are They?
- August 27: Food Order Apps – What’s Out There and How To Use Them
Let’s go shopping! This week, we explore two much-used grocery shopping and delivery apps that allow us to shop independently AND to save a trip to the store. Bonus: we welcome our BISM Gold STAR intern, Mary Nyenyezi Ijambo, who helped develop and record this week’s app reviews.
Grocery Shopping Apps
Grocery shopping apps have made life so much easier! With these tools, we can satiate our appetites with pantry staples like flour and sugar as well as with fresh and delicious fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, and eggs. We can even stock up on sauces, spices, and other gems so that we can make food from all over the world in our own homes!
This week, we examine the good and the bad of two popular grocery shopping and delivery apps: Instacart and Walmart+. Please note that our reviewers used each app’s iOS version on iPhones.
Our reviewers are Bridges Project Coordinator Chris Nusbaum and Mary Nyenyezi Ijambo – both blind young adults. Mary served as a Bridges intern through her participation in the Gold STAR (Students Training in Advocacy and Responsibility) program of BISM (Blind Industries and Services of Maryland), which was funded by the Maryland DORS/OBVS (Division of Rehabilitation Services/Office for Blindness & Vision Services).
Meet Mary Nyenyezi Ijambo
Mary just graduated from high school and seeks a career in communication, especially podcasts. So it’s no surprise she was a perfect intern for us at Bridges! Please check out Chris’ interview with Mary at Bridges interview with BISM Gold STAR intern Mary Ijambo on our YouTube channel.
Instacart App
About the Instacart app
Instacart is an app we can use to order groceries online for delivery or pickup. Instacart allows us to choose from a variety of stores—whatever is closest to our location and taking orders from the Instacart app.
Through its app, Instacart offers users the opportunity to shop at grocery stores (and other kinds of stores) and to have their purchases delivered by Instacart shoppers. Find out more on the How Instacart works web page.
Instacart charges fees, and many users give tips to their shoppers/deliverers. Instacart also offers a program called Instacart+. With Instacart+, users enjoy $0 delivery fees for orders over $35. Instacart+ costs $9.99 per month. Find out more on the Instacart+ benefits web page.
Instacart for individuals receiving EBT/SNAP benefits
EBT/SNAP benefits can be used with certain stores in Maryland (check out the Participating EBT SNAP retailers and states web page). Also, EBT/SNAP beneficiaries can get Instacart+ for $4.99 per month for the first 12 months of membership. and the EBT SNAP and Instacart+ promotion web page.
Bridges’ review of the Instacart iOS app
We tested Instacart and found it very easy to use. Except for one issue involving a popup offer, we were able to easily get our groceries ordered. Check out Chris and Marie’s demonstration of Instacart.
Go to our YouTube channel and join Chris and Mary as they take a deep dive into the Instacart app: Bridges’ Instacart Accessibility Video Review link.
Download Instacart from the Apple App store and check it out!
Walmart App
About Walmart app
Through its app, Walmart offers shoppers the ability to shop and purchase items from stores and additional items sold by Walmart that might not be in local, or any, stores. Walmart offers us, as buyers, up to three options: (1) pick up the items at a specific store, (2) delivery from the store to our homes, or (3) shipment of the items to our homes. Prices for delivery and shipping vary based on value of the total order and membership in Walmart+, a program that offers discounts and other offers upon payment of a membership fee. For example, the Walmart+ subscription includes a Paramount+ subscription. Find out more on the Explore Walmart+ benefits web page. College students may also get a 50% discount on Walmart+ membership. Anyone can get a 30-day free trial.
Walmart+ for individuals receiving EBT/SNAP benefits
EBT/SNAP beneficiaries may pay for eligible Walmart purchases with those benefits. Also, Walmart+ offers Walmart+ Assist, discounted Walmart+ membership to individuals who receive government benefits, like SNAP, SSI, etc. This discount continues for as long as the individual remains eligible and includes all Walmart+ benefits.
Bridges’ review of the Walmart iOS app
Chris and Marie took a deep dive into the Walmart app for iOS, which allows us to shop at and order from our nearest Walmart store. While one can shop as a guest, Walmart requires a subscription to Walmart+ to get free delivery and delivery on the same day. Our team found that most of the buttons were clearly labeled throughout the app. However, there were several places where VoiceOver got stuck or the navigation was just tricky enough that we had to chalk our challenges up to accessibility bugs. So, we would rate the overall accessibility of the app as mixed.
Check out Chris and Mary’s experience with the Walmart+ app on our YouTube channel: Bridges’ Walmart Accessibility Video Review link.
Download Walmart from the Apple App store and check it out!
Reach Out to Us at the Free Bridges Helpdesk anytime!
Please check out the Bridges Technical Assistance Center Resource Library today!
Contact us
Follow the Bridges Helpdesk Facebook page for more transition tips, and please contact the Bridges Technical Assistance Center’s Free Helpdesk for Maryland Blind/Low Vision Transition Students, Families, and Educators anytime using:
- Our Accessible web form
- Email: Helpdesk@IMAGEmd.org
- Text or Leave a Voice mail message: (410) 357-1546
- Bridges Helpdesk Facebook page or Facebook Messenger
This unique project is being coordinated through The IMAGE Center of Maryland, a center for independent living in Towson, and it is funded by a grant from the Maryland Department of Education Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services.