19 seafood places that take EBT and food stamps

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by Aidan Kang, CFA

Senior Writer

Saving & Budgeting

UPDATED: October 09, 2022

Are you enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)? The program helps needy families to purchase healthy food, including seafood. 

However, most people don’t know where they can use their Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards. It’s important to make the most of your benefits and purchase the food you need.

We've scoured the web for seafood places that accept EBT cards and food stamps. We also checked their official sites to verify that they take EBT.

Keep reading to find our top tip for making the most of your EBT. Don’t skip our list and miss out on the best seafood places to use your EBT.

Seafood places that accept EBT

We found 19 seafood places where you can buy nutritious food using your EBT.

1. Boston Public Market

You can shop year-round in the Boston Public Market. It features 30 New England artisans and food producers offering fresh seafood, meat, bread, and other products. 

You can shop online under the website’s main menu. Fortunately, you can receive your order on the same day if you submit it before 1 PM.

But if you want to visit the marketplace, you can find them at 100 Hanover St, Boston, Massachusetts 02108.

Store Hours

2. John Yi Fish Market

The John Yi Fish Market has been serving fresh seafood for over 38 years. It offers an extensive selection of farmed and wild-caught fish, sushi-grade salmon, and live lobsters.

Like the first place we mentioned, you can also order online from this marketplace. If you want to check the seafood personally, you can go to this address: 1136 Arch Street, #400, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Store Hours

3. Portland Fish Market

It’s easy to order seafood from the Portland Fish Market. You select seafood on their website. To check their locally-sourced quality fish, you can also go to the marketplace at 4404 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland, Oregon 97206.

Store Hours

4. Saltwater Seafood Market and Fry Shack

If you’re searching for “crab places that take ebt near me,” the Saltwater Seafood Market and Fry Shack might be included in the top results.

It offers fresh and frozen seafood, such as black bass, blue fish, crab meat, shrimp, lobster, and other types of fish.

It’s located at 4 Fenton Street, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27604.

Store Hours

5. Albertsons

You can find fish, shrimp, prawns, lobster, oysters, clams, scallops, and other types of seafood in Albertsons. It’s effortless to shop on their website, so if you want to save time, you can opt for delivery.

The retailer has more than 2,000 branches; you can find the nearest one by visiting their Store Locations page.

6. Aldi

Aldi offers fresh and frozen seafood for your nutritional needs. Some of their selections are Atlantic salmon, steelhead trout, and tilapia fillets.

You can visit their Stores page to find the nearest branch. But if you want a hassle-free experience, Aldi allows online shopping. Opening and closing hours may vary per store.

7. Whole Foods Market

Does Whole Foods take EBT?

Yes, you can buy Atlantic salmon, Chilean sea bass, Atlantic cod, wild halibut, tilapia, lobster tails, and other types of seafood using your EBT card.

Whole Foods has an online store where you can place your order, or you can also visit the Store Locator page to pick up the food personally.

8. BJ’s Wholesale Club

BJ’s Wholesale Club consistently offers discounted products, including food items. Their online site provides various types of seafood, such as cod fillets, shrimp, trout, tilapia, lobster, and salmon.

The warehouse club operator has more than 200 branches; you can find their addresses on the Club Locator page.

9. Costco

Currently, Costco has 815 warehouses, so if you’re searching for “seafood near me,” you’ll probably see the store’s name in one of your choices.

You can order cod, Dungeness, halibut, king crab, lobster, salmon, squid, and other seafood online. But if you want to shop in-store, you can visit their Locations page for more details.

10. Food Lion

Food Lion has over 1,000 stores in ten states. You can check out their Store Locator’s page here.

So what can you find in Food Lion? The grocery store chain offers fresh and frozen seafood, like lobster, shrimp, salmon, tuna, and catfish. The website has an easy-to-use interface where you can easily order fish and meat.

11. Giant Eagle

Giant Eagle offers several seafood types, such as:

• Cod
• Tilapia
• Salmon
• Haddock
• Flounder
• Tuna

Like most places we mentioned, the supermarket chain has an online shopping site for its customers. You can also visit their Store Locator page to find the nearest branch around your neighborhood.

12. Hy-Vee

Hy-Vee is a unique supermarket chain since employees own it. You can find Atlantic salmon, fresh tilapia fillets, shrimp, catfish nuggets, live mussels, and rainbow trout in their online store.

It has more than 240 branches, which you can see on its Store Locator page. Simply enter your zip code, state, or city to find a nearby store.

13. Kroger

Kroger operates over 2,000 stores, where you can find a wide selection of seafood. The supermarket chain provides shrimp, crab, shellfish, smoked salmon, and frozen seafood.

Unlike most stores we mentioned, Kroger only accepts EBT payments at participating pick-up locations. We recommend contacting stores near you before buying at Kroger.

14. Publix

Publix is also an employee-owned grocery chain with a wide range of seafood selections. You can buy tilapia, salmon, Corvina, squid, mussels, oysters, shrimp, yellowfin tuna, and other varieties.

You can shop on Publix's website or find a store near you. Publix operates more than 1,000 branches, so it’s fairly easy to find one around your neighborhood.

15. Safeway

Safeway is under Albertsons Companies and has more than 900 stores across the US. On their website, you can purchase lobster tail, shrimp, salmon, tilapia, crab, and other seafood.

Simply enter your zip code or state on the Store Locator page, so you can use your EBT to purchase fresh seafood and other products.

16. Sam’s Club

Sam’s Club requires membership before you can use your EBT card for purchases. Here’s a list of some seafood items you can purchase at the retail warehouse:

• Atlantic salmon
• Shrimp
• Steelhead trout
• Tilapia

You can visit their Club Finder page to find a store near your house. The retailer also allows online deliveries for convenience.

17. Target

Target has stores in all US states, so you can conveniently buy seafood online with EBT. You can also shop in-store using their online directory. But for a more convenient experience, you can enter your zip code to get a list of nearby locations.

The grocery retailer offers fresh and frozen seafood, such as crab, shrimp, salmon, and tuna.

18. Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe’s offers low-priced yet fresh seafood to its customers. You can get Atlantic salmon, shrimp, scallops, sea bass, and tuna on their website and in authorized stores.

Make sure to visit their Stores page to know the location’s opening and closing hours, food product availability, or special discounts.

19. Instacart

Most people ask, “Can you use EBT on Instacart?”

Yes, you can even order crab legs online with EBT through this mobile delivery service. Simply add your EBT card information before placing your order.

However, customers with cards issued in Alaska, Louisiana, and Montana aren’t eligible for this offer.

We hope you can find the perfect places for your seafood cravings.

Seafood places that don’t accept EBT

Unfortunately, most seafood places don’t allow EBT card payments.

1 to A

• 4th Street Shrimp Store
• Andria’s Seafood Restaurant & Market
• Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips
• Atlantic Seafood Market

B to C

• Bahama Breeze
• Bonefish Grill
• Bubba Gump Shrimp Company
• Captain Ds Seafood
• Carolina Meat & Fish Company
• Conrad’s Crab & Seafood Market
• Crab Cake Café
• Crab Pot ATL
• Crabby Bil’s

J to M

• Jersey City Fish Stand
• Joe’s Crab Shack
• King’s Fish House
• Legal Seafoods
• Long John Silver’s
• Mac’s Seafood Markets
• McCormick and Schmick’s
• McGrath’s Fish House
• Milwaukee Public Market
• Monahan’s Seafood Market

P to S

• Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen
• Pappas Seafood Company
• Red Lobster
• Rockfish Seafood Grill
• San Pedro Fish Market
• Santa Monica Seafood Market & Café
• Shells Restaurant
• St. Paul Fish Company

T

• The Crazy Crab
• The District Fishwife
• The Lobster Place Seafood Market
• Truluck’s Seafood Steak and Crab House

But can you buy hot food with EBT? According to the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, you can’t buy hot food with EBT because food stamps are intended to let needy families buy food for home consumption. 

Accordingly, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages EBT cardholders to buy staples, such as fruit, vegetables, bread, meat, and seafood.

But the law has exceptions because the elderly, disabled, and homeless SNAP recipients can buy hot meals at authorized restaurants through the Restaurant Meals Program (RMP). Each state has varying requirements for choosing which restaurants can participate in the program.

Items eligible to buy with EBT

According to the USDA, here are the products you can purchase using EBT:

1. Fruits and vegetables
2. Meat, poultry, and fish
3. Dairy products
4. Bread and cereals
5. Snacks and non-alcoholic beverages
6. Seeds and plants

You might notice that the list enumerates only essential foods. So if you want to buy liquor, vitamins, pet foods, and cleaning supplies, you can't buy them using EBT because these are non-essentials for households.

Restaurants that accept EBT

You might wonder, “Where can I pay with EBT fast food?” 

We compiled a list of restaurants that let you pay using EBT. You’d be surprised since they are well-known chains.

1. Blimpie
2. Burger King
3. Carl’s Jr.
4. Dairy Queen
5. Denny’s
6. Domino’s Pizza
7. El Pollo Loco
8. Jack in the Box
9. Jamba Juice
10. KFC
11. McDonald’s
12. Papa Murphy’s
13. Pizza Hut
14. Popeye’s
15. Rally’s
16. Subway
17. Taco Bell
18. Wendy’s

But make sure that you’re in a state that allows RMP to be eligible for this offer.

Purchase fresh seafood using EBT

Take advantage of your EBT card and food stamps when you buy in participating stores. We compiled 19 seafood places where you can pick fresh and frozen seafood.

Here’s our tip: buy discounted seafood and meat to prepare more meals for your family.

Plus, you can also use your EBT card at certain fast food restaurants, like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, KFC, and Burger King.

Aidan Kang, CFA

Aidan has been writing about personal finance for over 6 years. Prior to this, he worked as a Corporate Finance Analyst where he specialized in Due Diligence, Company Valuations and more. He is a CFA charterholder.