Low-income Americans can get assistance with their monthly shopping expenditures through the government Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Helping people put wholesome food on the table is the aim of SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program.
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards are given to SNAP beneficiaries who use them to make purchases at grocery stores just like they would with a debit card.
How the money can be used is outlined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program.
Fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, dairy, some snacks, bread, and cereals are among the permitted foods. [x] You cannot use SNAP funds to purchase alcohol, tobacco, cooked meals, pharmaceuticals, pet food, personal care products, or paper goods.
Even though the guidelines appear straightforward, West Coast residents can utilize their SNAP payments for things other than basic groceries. Here are six unconventional methods for using SNAP benefits on the West Coast.
Farmer’s Market Food
Want some California grapes, Oregon pears, or Washington apples? You can purchase your favourite fruits and veggies, selected fresh, at farmers’ markets with your SNAP benefits, which are known as CalFresh in California.
Every state has several markets where you can use your EBT cards to purchase goods including meat and fish, jams and jellies, bread, dairy, poultry, syrup, and honey.
Many stores will provide a matching program in all three states when you use your EBT card to purchase specific items. For instance, if you use $5 off your EBT benefits, you will receive $5 more to spend.
The Jack in the Box
legendary San Diego-based As a participant in the California Restaurant Meals Program, Jack in the Box enables anyone receiving CalFresh benefits who are 60 years of age or older, disabled, or homeless to purchase cooked meals with their EBT cards.
You can utilize your perks at other restaurants besides Jack in the Box. Subway, Del Taco, Pizza Hut, El Pollo Loco, and Waba Grill are a few more. Before placing an order, inquire as not all locations take part.
The Restaurant Meals Program is only available in California and Arizona in the West.
Gear for Fishing and Hunting
This one comes with an asterisk: If they satisfy both of these conditions, residents of the 49th state may utilize their SNAP payments to purchase particular equipment: They are mostly dependent on fishing and hunting to survive because they live in a place with few retail establishments.
To receive this benefit, SNAP users must declare that they intend to utilize the equipment for feeding their families and themselves.
Once approved, they will be able to purchase tools including ice augers, knives, harpoons, fishing rods, and nets as well as lines, hooks, and fishing lines. Ammunition and firearms are ineligible.
Gift baskets with food
As long as the gift baskets are mostly made of food, you can purchase them with your SNAP benefits.
An Easter basket containing a large plush rabbit and a few candies, for instance, would not be acceptable. The USDA, however, states that a fruit basket with a tiny non-food token would.
The Golden State Fruit Chocolate Covered Strawberries and the California Delicious Ultimate Meat and Cheese Gift Crate are two West Coast favourites that you can purchase on Amazon using your EBT benefits.
West Coast Oysters and Washington Salmon
Salmon is popular in Washington, and you can use your SNAP benefits to eat the most recent catch. Oysters from the West Coast are the same.
All 50 states allow the use of EBT cards in stores like butcher and seafood shops as long as they satisfy specific requirements established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
To qualify, fish and meat must be cold and uncooked when purchased.
Marriage Cakes
The West Coast chains with in-house bakeries include Fred Meyer, Vons, and Safeway. Getting hitched? Choose one of these shops to place your wedding cake order, and use your EBT benefits to pay for it.
The website Frugal Reality states that a cake is eligible provided the worth of the decorations, such as plastic figurines of the wedding couple, does not surpass 50% of the cake’s cost.
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