April 23 (Reuters) - Ecommerce giant Amazon.com ( AMZN )

launched a new grocery delivery subscription on Tuesday in the

United States for members of its Prime program and customers who

are recipients of the government food assistance benefits.

The subscription plan would allow Amazon's ( AMZN ) Prime members to

get unlimited grocery delivery at $9.99 per month on orders over

$35 from Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh, and other local

grocery and specialty retailers on the platform, including Save

Mart, Bartell Drugs, Rite Aid and Pet Food Express.

The service will be available in over 3,500 cities and towns

across the country.

Low-income citizens, who rely on the government's

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to support

their grocery budgets, would have to pay a reduced $4.99 fee per

month for the same perks and do not require a Prime membership,

according to the statement by Amazon.com ( AMZN ).

The move comes as part of the company's efforts to expand

its fresh-food business in a space already occupied by players

like Walmart ( WMT ) and Target ( TGT ), which also have paid

membership programs.

A Walmart Plus offers plans for $12.95 per month, or a

yearly plan for $98.

Amazon's ( AMZN ) offering also includes one-hour delivery windows at

no extra cost and unlimited 30-minute pickup on orders of any

size.

The move comes after a successful trial of this subscription

plan in Denver, Colorado, Sacramento, California, Columbus and

Ohio last year, the company added.