If you are receiving SNAP or EBT benefits you can use those benefits at many different grocery stores, including Whole Foods and other specialty grocery stores. Shopping at Whole Foods is a great way to get food that you need if you or someone in your household is on a special diet or needs special foods because they have food allergies or food sensitivity. Many of the items at Whole Foods are SNAP or EBT-eligible.
Does Whole Foods Accept Food Stamps Online?
Whole Foods is owned by Amazon, so when you order food online through Amazon you can get foods from Whole Foods with your SNAP or EBT benefits. However, you should be aware that your SNAP or EBT benefits won’t cover any shipping or delivery costs. You will still be responsible for paying any additional shipping or delivery costs. To add your EBT or SNAP card to your Amazon account go to your Amazon account and click on the button to add a new payment method to your account. Click on the button to add SNAP/EBT and enter your card number. Then shop like you normally would. When you’re ready to check out choose SNAP/EBT as your method of payment and enter your PIN. If there are any items in your cart that aren’t eligible for SNAP or if there are delivery or shipping costs you will need to use a different payment method to pay for those costs.
What Can You Buy At Whole Foods With EBT?
At Whole Foods stores you can buy any grocery items with your EBT card. That includes things like:
- Veggies and fruits (fresh, frozen, or canned)
- Cooking oils
- Poultry, fish, and meat, such as turkey, catfish, pork, tuna, or deli meat
- Dairy products such as cheese, milk, and almond milk
- Cereals and bread (like pita bread, rye bread, tortillas, pasta, bagels, and rice)
- Supplementary foods, such as snacks
- Alcohol-free beverages
- Food-producing seeds and plants for the household
However, you can’t use your SNAP benefits to pay for any prepared food/hot bar food items. That includes made-to-order sandwiches or foods from their prepared foods section too.
What Can’t You Buy At Whole Foods With Food Stamps?
There are a lot of things that your SNAP benefits will pay for at Whole Foods including special diet foods like gluten-free or vegan foods. But Whole Foods also carries a lot of things that your SNAP benefits won’t pay for like:
- Beer, wine, alcohol, tobacco, or cigarettes
- Supplements, medications, and vitamins
- Live animals (except shellfish, fish removed from the water, and animals slaughtered before pickup from the store)
- Hot foods at the time of sale
- Non-food items, such as cleaning products, paper-based goods, pet food, hygiene supplies, and cosmetics
If you’re buying food and things like pet food or cleaning supplies you will need to divide up your purchases at the register. Group all of the food items that are covered by SNAP into one order and pay for that with your EBT card. Then the cashier will ring up all of your items that aren’t covered by SNAP and you will need to pay for those with another type of payment.
