If you’re receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, you’re probably wondering if you can have food delivered to your home and pay it through your EBT card.
Perhaps you don’t have time or can’t go out of your house or maybe grocery stores in your area aren’t fully stocked.
We understand the challenge and sometimes the frustration. So, we’ve searched online for the places where you can order food for delivery and use your EBT card for payment and came up with a handy list.
This guide aims to help you save time and gas by being able to buy the food you need without leaving the comfort of your home.
You’ll also get to avoid paying extra on food delivery since you can just your EBT, so read without skipping!
What Are The Meal Delivery Services That Accept EBT?
Meal kits are popular these days because they’re a healthier and better option than ordering take-out. It makes dieting easier and is more convenient because your food is delivered directly to your home.
For now, Top Box is the only meal kit delivery service that caters SNAP beneficiaries and accepts EBT cards as payments for their orders.
Top Box helps consumers by giving them access to affordable and healthy food. It delivers fresh produce, meat, fish, and poultry to your home. It’s also the first meal delivery service that accepts EBT.
You must pay in person on the delivery day using your EBT card.
Does Hello Fresh Or Blue Apron accept EBT?
The answer is no. Unfortunately, other popular meal delivery services such as Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, Hungryroot, Boxed, and ButcherBox do not accept food stamps or EBT cards as a payment method at this time.
If you wish to order food from any of them, you have to use a different mode of payment, such as a credit or debit card, gift cards, or mobile payments like PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
What Are The Online Grocery Delivery Service That Accepts EBT?
Fortunately, you’ll find other delivery services, albeit limited, that cater SNAP beneficiaries and accept EBT payment.
Hungry Harvest
Hungry Harvest believes everyone deserves access to healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables.
The team behind the company saw that a lot of people were affected by hunger and decided to come up with a solution to help.
They started donating produce every week to charities.
But they soon realized that there are people, such as students, who are living in food insecurity but can’t be served by hunger-solving organizations. They can’t access healthy food options because they’re too expensive.
With that, Hungry Harvest came up with Produce in a SNAP, a program that allows SNAP beneficiaries to use their EBT cards when purchasing discounted produce.
Amazon Fresh
Amazon Fresh is a grocery delivery service that’s available in major U.S. cities.
With its partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture, Amazon now accepts SNAP EBT cards as a form of payment in all U.S. states except for Hawaii and Alaska.
Amazon Fresh selection, which is generally available only to Prime members, is now offered to customers who receive SNAP beneficiaries.
You simply have to register your SNAP EBT card to start shopping. You don’t have to pay Prime membership fees when you shop at Amazon Fresh using a SNAP EBT card.
However, you need to meet the minimum order of $35, depending on your location, to enjoy free delivery.
If you don’t, you can’t use your SNAP EBT card to pay the shipping fee. And when that happens, you’ll have to provide a different form of payment.
Organics to You
Organics to You offers produce delivery service to SNAP beneficiaries in Portland. It means you can purchase delicious and healthy food using your EBT card and have it delivered to your home.
It’s a no-fuss and convenient service that lets you customize your order and choose how often you want to receive it without signing up for a subscription service.
Plus, it offers free delivery to clients located in the greater Portland and Vancouver areas.
Fresh Direct
SNAP beneficiaries from The Bronx can use their EBT cards to purchase fresh food and groceries from Fresh Direct.
All you need to do is create a Fresh Direct account and start shopping at their website. Don’t forget to choose the EBT option for payment during checkout.
You can only order SNAP-eligible items. Make sure that you place a minimum order of $30 per delivery.
The surcharge, delivery, and tax fee are waived for those who live in zip codes 10454 and 10455, as part of the EBT pilot program between FreshDirect and the U.S. government.
What Are The Major Retailers That Accept EBT Cards And Offer Online Food Delivery?
U.S. consumers who qualify for SNAP benefits have a lot of options if they want to buy food online. Most major U.S. grocery chains use EBT cards as a mode of payment.
Here’s a list of major retailers accepting SNAP payments:
Walmart
Walmart now accepts EBT payments online in all U.S. states except Montana and Alaska. In these two states, SNAP beneficiaries can use their EBT cards at pickup.
Simply add your EBT card as a payment method to your Walmart account. Once that’s done, you can start shopping for EBT-eligible items with no-basket minimums.
ALDI
SNAP beneficiaries can use their EBT cards as a payment method in-store or online at ALDI.
You can also choose between curbside pickup through Instacart or grocery delivery. Whether it’s produce, dairy, or fresh meat, you can use your EBT card when you order at ALDI online.
BJ’s Wholesale
You can now shop EBT-eligible items at BJs.com. As a pilot program, BJ’s Wholesale now accepts SNAP benefits as payment for same-day delivery, shipping, and free pickup.
It’s available in the following states:
- Florida
- North Carolina
- Rhode Island
- New Hampshire
- Ohio
- Maine
- Pennsylvania
- Connecticut
- New York
- New Jersey
- Massachusetts
- Georgia
- Michigan
Kroger
Kroger has almost 2,800 stores in most states in the United States.
It accepts SNAP benefits as the mode of payment only for curbside pickup for now. You can use your EBT card to pay orders of at least $35.
You can place your order through Kroger’s site and mobile app. Choose EBT at pickup as your preferred payment option, and complete your order.
Note that only USDA-approved food items can be purchased using your SNAP benefits at Kroger stores.
ShopRite
ShopRite now accepts EBT cards as a form of payment when you order groceries online at Shoprite.com or on the ShopRite mobile app. Just choose EBT SNAP Card as your payment method when you order groceries online.
There’s no minimum order required. It’s applicable for both delivery and pickup orders in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
Hy-Vee
Hy-Vee, which is a chain of supermarkets in the Southern and Midwestern United States, now accepts EBT card payment only for curbside pickup at select stores.
When you pick up your order, be sure to bring your EBT card and an alternative mode of payment, such as a debit or credit card, in case there are other costs that your SNAP benefits don’t cover.
Is There A Delivery Service That Accepts EBT Cards?
Yes, there is and it’s Instacart.
Instacart offers meal delivery services to people who use EBT as their mode of payment. You can purchase groceries worth at least $35 at participating stores through the app without worrying about the pickup or delivery fee.
SNAP beneficiaries in all states except Montana, Louisiana, and Alaska can use their EBT cards on Instacart.
All you need to do is add your EBT SNAP card as your payment method in the app. Then you can start shopping for eligible items, which are marked with an “EBT” label.
Pay for the items by choosing EBT SNAP as your preferred method of payment.
What Is Meal Kit Delivery?
A meal kit is a box complete with ingredients, recipes, and tips needed to create sumptuous meals in the comfort of your home.
The box is sent directly to your home, which means you don’t have to go to the grocery store to buy the items you need to cook healthy and delicious food.
You can choose how often you want the meal kits delivered to your home and for how many persons each box is good for.
The price of a meal kit varies from $5 to as much as $13 per serving.
What Is SNAP?
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called food stamps, is a program organized by the U.S. government that helps eligible people purchase healthy food.
SNAP is the largest program by the U.S. government that’s directed toward fighting hunger in the country.
SNAP beneficiaries receive money every month through their Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards. The amount you’ll get will depend on several factors, such as your family size and income.
You can use the EBT card just like a regular debit card when buying groceries at farmer's markets and grocery stores.
Who Qualifies For Snap?
Unemployed or employed individuals, families, people with disabilities, active-duty military or veterans, and seniors may be eligible for SNAP benefits.
Every state has different requirements for SNAP benefits. Generally speaking, your household income must be at or below 130% of the poverty line.
At least one person with eligible immigration status or at least one U.S. citizen must live in your household.
Additionally, your household assets must be $2,500 or less if you don’t have an elderly or disabled household member; and $3,750 or less if you have such a member at home.
Summary/Conclusion
SNAP beneficiaries have very limited options when it comes to meal kit delivery services that accept EBT cards. Only Top Box accepts EBT payments, at least for now.
Fortunately, you still have access to fresh and healthy food thanks to USDA’s partnership with some grocery delivery services. You can use your EBT card to purchase SNAP-eligible items from online grocery delivery services and major retailers in most states in the United States.
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.
