A FS question

[Freedom~Mama]

I have not had fs for very long and I am still a bit confused about what you can and can't buy. Does anyone know if you can buy natural food products such as raw almond butter, agave syrup, raw nuts, etc? I wasn't sure and didn't want to be embarrassed at the store! TIA!

[Norasmomma]

Yes you can buy that stuff. You can't buy supplements(vitamins, protein powders, etc). There is a list out there of what you can and cannot buy.

[leavemealone]

Slightly OT, but somewhat related: If you do need to buy something that isn't allowed on FS, do you have to separate it out or will the FS card only take off the amount that is eligible? So if I need to buy toilet paper along with groceries, do I need to separate out the toilet paper into a separate transaction?

[Chicky2]

I am pretty sure you can buy whatever is 'food' and sold where FS are accepted as a form of payment. I believe there are sometimes restrictions on, say, deli items.

[EarthyMamaofDaisy]

I buy raw nuts and almond butter and other natural/organic items. But you can't buy stuff like Luna bars because they are considered a vitamin supplement. Although I can get Larabars because they don't have all the vitamins added. It's the ready made stuff like rotisserie chickens and pre-made subs you can't get. Also I've heard you can't get stuff off the salad bar but I could have sworn I'd gotten that before... Anyway you dont have to separate, after you swipe your EBT card any remaining stuff not covered will come up at the end and you pay separately for that.

[leavemealone]

Originally Posted by EarthyMamaofDaisy

Anyway you dont have to separate, after you swipe your EBT card any remaining stuff not covered will come up at the end and you pay separately for that.

OK, that's what I was hoping it would do, but I wasn't really sure. We are close to applying for ourselves and that was one of my questions.

[KatWrangler]

Yep, it automatically seperates them for you. They will let you know what you owe out of pocket.

[Mommabean]

I want to tell you that you can buy more than you think.

Without even trying to, I had combined orders for time sake on Saturday morning. I was picking up groceries and then things for ds's birthday. Well the 20lbs of ice and birthday cake went through on the card. I said woah wait shouldn't I have to pay for those things, and the lady was really kind and said nope, relax momma you don't need to worry this birthday.

I was so stunned that FS covered the sheet cake I was buying and ICE?? But the ladies at my store are very sweet know our story and really know the laws.

I try to buy tons of organic, fresh produce, and haven't had an issue yet.

[justmama]

Originally Posted by Mommabean

Without even trying to, I had combined orders for time sake on Saturday morning. I was picking up groceries and then things for ds's birthday. Well the 20lbs of ice and birthday cake went through on the card. I said woah wait shouldn't I have to pay for those things, and the lady was really kind and said nope, relax momma you don't need to worry this birthday.

.

that's beautiful!

[nolansmummy]

ITs probably different state-to-state, because we can buy luna bars here and other bars as well. Pretty much just no vitamins, and no hot food. I bought ds' sheet cake this past year with fs, surprisingly as well. I had no idea it would be covered.

[AlwaysByMySide]

I learned from someone on MDC that you can also buy seeds (as in, seeds to grow things with) with FS too.

[Norasmomma]

Originally Posted by AlwaysByMySide

I learned from someone on MDC that you can also buy seeds (as in, seeds to grow things with) with FS too.

and fruit trees too

[AlwaysByMySide]

Originally Posted by Norasmomma

and fruit trees too

For real? You just made my day. I've been wanting to put in blueberry bushes!

Does it have to be from Kmart/Walmart, or do home improvement places (Home Depot/Lowes) take food stamps?

[Norasmomma]

Originally Posted by AlwaysByMySide

For real? You just made my day. I've been wanting to put in blueberry bushes!

Does it have to be from Kmart/Walmart, or do home improvement places (Home Depot/Lowes) take food stamps?

I think it has to be from somewhere that takes EBT, so I can't answer that.

I may get some fruit trees this spring.

[AlwaysByMySide]

I'll have to check at Home Depot or Lowes the next time I'm in the area. Worst case, I know Kmart sold fruit trees in my area last year, but I'm not sure if either Kmart or Walmart sold any kind of berry bushes. Guess I'll find out in a few months.

My food stamps were backdated to my application date, about seven weeks ago, and it's a lot more than we go through in a month anyway. I'd so much rather buy something like berry bushes and fruit trees than random stuff just to spend the extra. Thanks for the tip!

[sunanthem]

Yup, all food, ice, seeds, plants, trees with edible fruit on them, pre made subs, and other cold deli foods just not HOT prepared foods. It is a federal program, so should not vary by state, however many stores are not educated as to what FS actually cover. oh, and you don't need to seperate items; that would take forever! They will ring it up and let you know the difference that you owe. I've actually had green works cleaners covered by FS as well.. don't know how that happened.

[Norasmomma]

It's funny I always separate my stuff, but that's also because when I coupon at Walmart I have to break up my stuff so that each transaction I can use 40 coupons-if I have more the systems beeps and freezes.

I also like to keep my receipts and see what we go through-kinda use it as a list, so it works for me-food, household, etc.

[Freedom~Mama]

Thanks for the replies!

I was excited to be able to get my youngest DD's birthday cake with FS as well.

Does anyone know if there is a list of what you can and can't buy with food stamps? I guess it prob. varies from state to state. I am from ID.

[Ruthla]

You can't buy vitamins, you can buy candy and soda. I think that's kind of backwards, but I didn't design the program. You can't buy toilet paper or soap with FS, but you can clean with baking soda and vinegar, both of which are considered foods.

You can buy "natural" or organic foods, or HFCS laden junk food, or anything in between. It just can't be hot or considered "take out food." I know rotisserie chickens don't qualify, I'm pretty sure sushi and ready-to-eat sandwiches from the deli don't qualify (but a half a pound of meat plus a bakery roll do qualify, if you assemble your own lunch at home or in the car.) In theory, plants and seeds that grow into something edible (blueberry bushes, carrot seeds) are FS eligable, if you can find them at a store that accepts EBT.

Even then, you may find yourself in a store where the registers aren't programmed right, and things that are supposed to be FS eligable come up as cash-only. I've had that problem with a block of cheese at a certain store! It can be frustrating (and not at all discreet) to complain about that at the register and have the front end manager come over to fix it. Sometimes it doesn't pay to correct the mistakes. If it happens with a 50 cent box of baking soda, I'll usually just pay the cash and not worry about it. If it's a $7 block of cheese, I get it fixed.

[KatWrangler]

Papa Murphys Pizza accepts them too. Since it's a take and bake pizza its acceptable.