Amazon is an easy place to find EBT-eligible plants! It’s a great way to make your EBT funds stretch a little farther.
Why can you buy plants and seeds with EBT?
The federal food stamps law allows households to purchase food for human consumption, but there are some interesting loopholes that let you buy other items as well. As we discuss in our other posts, you can buy seeds, produce-bearing plants, fruit trees, custom birthday cakes, live lobsters, gift baskets and even restaurant meals in some circumstances.
But there’s a problem.
Not all retailers are set up to sell EBT-eligible plants.
Even though that’s what the USDA allows and it’s totally legal, not all retailers are set up to accept EBT benefits for seeds or plants. A lot of people have asked us where you can make these purchases or been embarrassed at checkout when the purchase doesn’t work and the store employees don’t understand the law. It’s frustrating, and it’s discouraged a lot of people from using their benefits this way. Fortunately, we found a solution: Amazon!
We’ve found EBT-Eligible plants, seeds and more!
Amazon has a lot of different options available for people who want to start a garden with their food stamps benefits. I picked up a few of my favorites. In the interest of full disclosure, I didn’t buy them with EBT but I made sure they were all EBT-eligible plants at the time I purchased them.
Let’s take a look at what I found. As always, we’ll start with the cheapest and work our way up to the most expensive.
Seed Packets
Of course, Amazon has some basic seed packets you can purchase with food stamps. I will warn you right off the bat, though, that the basic seeds may be more expensive than you would pay at your local Walmart or other retailer.
I paid $7.09 for this pack of 300 Burpee Sugar Snap Pea seeds. And, of course, these are just seeds – you’ll need to buy the other gardening supplies separately and most of them will not be EBT-eligible.
$17 Burpee Starter Kit
That’s why I love this Burpee starter kit that I picked up for $17. It gives you everything you need to start growing cilantro, dill, parsley, sweet basil and chives. The kit includes five seed packets, 5 biodegradable pots, 5 pellets and plant markers. I honestly think this is a much better choice than just buying the seeds, because it includes everything you need to start your garden.
$17 Back to the Roots Indoor Gardening Kit
Also for $17, I picked up this Back to the Roots indoor gardening kit. It includes everything you need to grow organic cherry tomatoes in your windowsill.
It comes with a 64-ounce glass mason jar, the potting mix, two fertilizer sticks, the seeds, literally everything you need in one convenient box for just $17. You just need to add water.
This product even includes access to a free online STEM curriculum! This particular brand also offers a Chili Pepper variation that was also EBT eligible.
$18 Back to the Roots Gardening Set
For $18, I picked up another Back to the Roots gardening set. This one promises to grow gourmet organic mushrooms year-round. I love mushrooms so I’m really excited about this.
You simply have to place the box near a window with indirect light and mist it twice a day. Within a week, you’ll see delicious mushrooms starting to grow! The box includes everything you need to grow 6-8 servings of mushrooms.
$32 Live Plants Pack
You can even buy live EBT-eligible plants on Amazon! For $31.53, I picked up this live aromatic and edible herb assortment.
In the fine print, it says that the exact herbs you will receive will vary because they rotate the nursery stock each week. You could receive lavender, rosemary, lemon balm, mint, sage or other herbs. There are six plants, each in a one-pint pot.
These live herbs plants are EBT-eligible and will be delivered right to your door.
Auguson Farms Seed Storage
If you’d like something that will last longer, I found this really interesting offering from Augason Farms that is also EBT-eligible. For $77, this one-pound canister promises to yield over 2,300 pounds of fresh produce. It contains 13 hardy seed varieties, all of which are non-hybrid and non-GMO.
The product description doesn’t exactly say which seed varieties are included, but a reviewer named Laura gave a list that included winter squash, tomatoes, zucchini, cantaloupe melons, carrots, white onions, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, sweet peppers, beans, peas, and corn. It also includes a growing guide.
Aerogarden Indoor Garden Pods
Amazon also lists these AeroGarden pods as EBT-eligible. I picked up the salad bar kit that includes 24 pods: 9 lettuce pods, 3 herb pods, and 12 tomato pods. It includes a germination guarantee, which means that if the pods don’t sprout, they’ll replace it for free.
I like that because I’m not a great gardener and this is a great way to ensure that inexperienced people will actually grow food from their EBT-eligible plants.
What I didn’t realize when I purchased this $39 kit was that it requires you to use an AeroGarden.
I didn’t even know what an AeroGarden was, so I shopped around. It looks REALLY cool. It’s an indoor garden with a grow light. It even has WiFi and Alexa compatibility so it can inform you about water levels and you can even use an app to adjust the grow light. The AeroGarden promises that you can grow produce indoors 365 days a year.
However, it comes with a pretty significant downside.
This kit was $353 and not EBT-Eligible, which makes it very difficult for low income families to afford. It is only a one-time purchase, after which you could use EBT to purchase the pods… but you would probably want to pick up the actual garden with a tax refund or something like that to make it work.
Find more EBT-Eligible Plants at BuyWithFoodStamps.com!
To find the latest EBT-Eligible plants, seeds, gardening supplies and even gifts, check buywithfoodstamps.com!
Nicole Thelin
Nicole is the founder and lead researcher of Low Income Relief. After a personal experience with poverty and homelessness following her husband's sudden medical discharge from the U.S. Army, Nicole discovered the life-changing impact of community resources. This experience ignited her passion for empowering others to navigate similar crises. Nicole launched her writing career at age 16, working for various newspapers and publications. Her commitment to in-depth research and accessible content has been recognized by Google for Publishers and other industry leaders. For over 20 years, she has applied her investigative skills to uncover the most helpful, up-to-date information on benefits programs and community resources, ensuring Low Income Relief maintains the most extensive resource databases available.