government-benefits
(2)
Ofek Lavian Found a Fortune in the Checkout Lane Everyone Else Avoided
He learned payments at Uber and Instacart, then chose the corner of fintech buried under federal rules and grocery receipts. Forage is his wager that dignity can be infrastructure.
Forage
Forage is a San Francisco payments company that makes it easy for retailers and online platforms to accept government benefits like SNAP EBT, WIC, and HSA/FSA. It is one of only a handful of third-party processors approved by the USDA to handle online EBT, pairing a unified merchant API with hands-on certification support. On the consumer side, its Forage app helps low-income families check their EBT balance, find discounts, and earn rewards. The technology runs at more than 100,000 stores across all 50 states, including Dollar General, Save A Lot, Gopuff, DoorDash, and Uber Eats.