How to Identify EBT Eligible Items on Amazon

Ever clicked on an enticing Amazon grocery item, only to find out it’s not covered by your EBT card? The process can be frustrating and disappointing. Let’s demystify EBT eligibility on Amazon, so you can shop with confidence and avoid surprises at checkout.

In this post, we’re going to explain how to find EBT eligible items on Amazon and how you can score a great 50% discount on your Amazon Prime membership!

What Qualifies as EBT Eligible

Under the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), your EBT card helps cover nutritious foods to maintain your health. Eligible items typically include:

• Fruits and Vegetables: Fresh, canned, or frozen options without added sugars, fats, or oils.
• Meat, Poultry, and Fish: A variety of protein sources from beef to tofu.
• Dairy Products: Milk, cheese, and other dairy essentials.
• Breads and Cereals: Whole grains and other fiber-rich choices.
• Snack Foods and Non-Alcoholic Beverages: Chips, sodas, and more.

However, not everything is covered. You cannot use your EBT card for:

• Hot Prepared Foods: Anything ready to eat or requiring in-store heating.
• Alcohol and Tobacco: These items are strictly ineligible.
• Non-Food Items: Pet foods, cleaning supplies, and personal hygiene products.

There are some interesting loopholes in the federal food stamps law that let you buy some unexpected things like gift baskets and fruit trees.

• Gift Baskets: You can only buy gift baskets that primarily consist of food items.
• Seeds and Plants: You can only buy seeds and plants that will produce food for your household.

How to Find EBT Eligible Items on Amazon

Unlike your local store, Amazon makes it easy to identify what you can buy with EBT. They use a SNAP EBT Eligible label for products that can be purchased with your food benefits.

This label is typically placed near the pricing information, depicted as a small bold text. You do not have to be logged in or have your SNAP EBT card linked to your Amazon account in order to see that label. If you’re in the United States, it should always be there.

Here’s an example:

See how the bottom of that image has a bold line that says SNAP EBT Eligible? That’s the label you want to look for to find the products are EBT eligible.

We’ve compiled some of our favorite EBT eligible items into one easy-to-shop place. Just visit the Low Income Relief Amazon Store to see what we’ve found!

FAQs about Using EBT on Amazon

With millions of EBT users around the country shopping hundreds of thousands of items on Amazon, it’s natural that we’ve been asked a lot of questions about this over the years.

Do I need a Prime account to shop with EBT?

Amazon does not require a user to have Prime in order to make EBT purchases. You will, however, be expected to pay shipping without a Prime membership. One benefit of signing up for Amazon Prime is reduced or free shipping costs. 

You can get 50% off the cost of an Amazon Prime membership if you have EBT. You just need to register and submit a picture of your card on this Amazon Access page.

Can I just search for SNAP EBT?

Yes, you can try that. It likely won’t show you everything that is SNAP EBT Eligible. We’ve been helping shoppers find eligible items on Amazon for more than 10 years and their filtering tools have never been great at isolating those products.

Thus, I’ve found that it’s easier to search for the item I want and look for the SNAP label. When I find something I think you’ll like, I add it to our Amazon store so you can find it easier.

How does shipping work with EBT?

You can’t use your food benefits to pay for shipping. If you do not qualify for free shipping, you will need to use a different payment method like a debit card to cover your shipping charges.

The good news is that there are a ton of ways to get free shipping through Amazon without being a member of Prime. Each store that Amazon offers provides free shipping to EBT accounts if you spend over $35. If you are purchasing items that are not EBT eligible in the same shopping basket as EBT items, Amazon will recognize this and separate the orders.

Relief Recap

It’s easy to find EBT eligible items on Amazon when you know what the label looks like. Make sure to use the screenshot above as a guide so you know what to look for. Happy shopping – and don’t forget your Amazon discount!