Forage

Helping 185 Million Americans Afford Groceries

For too many low-income families, accessing affordable food is a daily struggle. In a recent survey (opens in a new tab), 53% of American adults identified high grocery prices as a major source of financial stress, ahead of housing, healthcare, and childcare. That’s the problem that Forage was built to solve.

"The cost of groceries is the number-one financial stressor in America,” said Ofek Lavian, co-founder and CEO of Forage. “At Forage, we’re building a network for affordability, making it easy for low-income Americans to save on groceries. At the same time, we’re helping retailers grow by better serving the affordability needs of today's price-conscious shoppers.”

Forage began by modernizing SNAP EBT payments at checkout. More than 37 million Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to put food on the table—but the infrastructure powering SNAP wasn't built for the digital era. As a result, millions of SNAP families can’t securely check their balances in real time or access the same convenience and reliability available to other shoppers at checkout.

Over its first five years, Forage built the infrastructure to close that gap. To date, Forage has facilitated tens of millions of grocery orders and grown payments volume by 13x over the last year. Its payments technology is now used in over 100,000 stores across all fifty states.

That’s because better tech tools help low-income families make the most of their benefits. This is a key area where scaling Navigation Technology solutions holds significant promise.

Making SNAP Simple to Navigate

Forage’s payments technology makes it easier for SNAP recipients to use their benefits online and in stores. The company is focused on improving the navigation experience for those that interact with SNAP and driving affordability for everyday Americans. To that end, in late 2025, they launched the Forage app, a free tool that helps people:

• Securely check their electronic benefits transfer (EBT) balances
• Find nearby stores and online retailers that accept SNAP
• Learn which items are SNAP-eligible by state
• Discover savings and earn rewards on everyday purchases

So far, the Forage app has been downloaded over 100,000 times. These tools have proven to be a lifeline for the many SNAP recipients who can’t easily shop in-person because of age, disability, limited transportation, or lack of nearby stores – demonstrating how NavTech tools can break down barriers to essential services.

“I started using the Forage app, and so far I am really happy and honestly super impressed,” said one app user in a Google Play review. “Sign up is a breeze, and uploading receipts is simple and straightforward. I truly cannot say enough good things about this app!!”

Recognizing the potential to bring Forage’s NavTech solutions to more families in need, NextLadder Ventures participated in Forage’s Series B round (opens in a new tab) alongside Mouro Capital, Nyca Partners, PayPal Ventures, Long Journey Ventures, Intuit Ventures, Pivotal Ventures, and FJ Labs.