Use your EBT card to buy fresh, healthy food in New York.
Getting food stamps for the first time in New York can be a little intimidating if you don't know what you are allowed to buy. You certainly don't want to wind up in line with a handful of items you can't purchase with your food stamps when you don't have the cash to cover them. Luckily, the list of eligible items makes sense, as does the list of ineligible items. You'll soon have them memorized.
Buy These
You can use your EBT card to buy cereal, rice, grains and pasta, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. You can buy fresh, canned or frozen produce. Fresh, canned or frozen meats are also eligible. Cheeses, milk, yogurt and eggs are all eligible food items. In fact, almost anything you can eat is eligible.
Don't Buy These
The list of ineligible items is more narrow than the list of eligible foods, according to the USDA. You can't buy nonfood items like paper products, medicine, magazines, alcohol or cigarettes. There are a few food items that aren't eligible as well: hot foods, such as buffet foods, and foods meant to be eaten on site. You can't buy steamed foods, such as at the seafood counter. You can, however, purchase the seafood and return to the seafood counter to have it steamed afterward.
Organic Stores
Most grocery stores accept the EBT card, according to the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Just look for the "Quest" logo when you go shopping. Organic stores in New York are beginning to accept the EBT card as well, including the Park Slope Food Coop. Check with management before shopping to make sure your favorite organic store accepts the card.
Farmers' Markets
When New York switched from paper coupons to the EBT card in 1999, consumers temporarily lost the ability to purchase food from farmers' markets, according to the Farmers' Market Federation of New York. As of 2011, that's changing. Farmers' markets are supplied with free point-of-sale terminals to complete EBT transactions. Patrons can also purchase wooden food stamp "tokens" to shop with. You don't get change back with tokens, though. Vendors exchange the tokens for money at the end of the day.
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