Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) acts as a payment card that provides food and cash-based benefits through a magnetically encoded electronic system. The Food benefits come under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the cash benefits come under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The EBT card is meant specially for families that have minimum or no income. Every user gets a personal EBT number that must be secret. The State and Federal governments cannot ask anyone for their EBT number though they sponsor the EBT cards. Does Kroger take EBT?
Does Kroger Take EBT?
All Kroger stores take EBT as a payment method, and it does not require an additional and minimum order amount. The EBT users can enjoy the benefits only for the USDA Approved Food Items. The customers can use their EBT cards just like the credit or debit card for order pickup at the Kroger stores but not for delivery. Through this, Kroger wants to attract families with low incomes. Kroger stores across the 35 American states accept EBT. It provides free delivery if the customer orders cost more than or equal to $35.
Food Products To Get Bought By The EBT Card
Usage of EBT card allows the members to buy certain food items such as seafood, frozen foods, meat, non-alcoholic drinks, seeds, bread, cooking oils, cereals, plants, nuts, soft drinks, fruits, particular types of snacks, candies, and chocolates.
Food items not available for the EBT cardholders include cosmetics, tobacco, paper, alcohol products, live animals, cigarettes, cooked food, medicines, and vitamins.
So, the customers that want to buy more items that do not get supported by the EBT card must pay separately for those items through cash or credit or debit cards.
The benefit offers $125 per month for the wide range of food items mentioned above. Thus, the members must spend the amount carefully.
Advantages Of The EBT Card
The following are the advantages provided by the EBT card:
- The needy people can easily afford the products and services at cheaper rates, while the merchants can sell goods to a wide range of people with ease. The EBT cardholders do not have to pay tax for using the card.
- EBT cards are easy and convenient to use because they must get used as credit or debit cards.
- Community health gets improved because even financially poor individuals can access healthy food items.
- The unused money in the account will get carried the next month. However, the money will get added to the account every month.
Disadvantages Of The EBT Card
The following are the disadvantages of the EBT card:
- The EBT card can get used for unhealthy food, whereas many other vital life products remain out of the facility. The cardholders might substitute their food products to use the facility to its fullest.
- This program introduces additional costs for the state.
- Some people who do not need the facility might game the system. But, some people who need the benefit might remain underprivileged.
P-EBT
Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) is the program led by the US
Government in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic. It provides temporary benefits with EBT for needy school children. These students must not get access to the meals provided by the schools and must be a part of the Community Eligibility Program (CEP) and age below six years. The school must operate the National School Lunch Program. This benefit got started in 2020 and was available for the years 2020-2021. This benefit gets provided for two categories of children. The first category contains the children that fit into the National School Lunch Program. The second category consists of children below the age of six whose families enjoyed the benefit provided by SNAP.
Conclusion
The users must understand the SNAP benefits for realizing the usage of the EBT card. Kroger does not accept cash, WIC, and cheques during the pickup. The company always tries to mold itself according to the customer requirements. The EBT card is an initiative provided by the State and the Federal Government to help needy people survive the financial crisis, especially after the Pandemic.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What Is SNAP?
Answer:
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the food distribution initiative taken by the Federal Government to provide financial support for food purchases. It is applicable for families with low or no income and was formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. It offers an Electronic Benefits Card (EBT) for the users to buy necessary food items within an amount provided by SNAP.
- What Is TANF?
Answer:
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a limited initiative for needy parents that are too poor to provide financial support to their children and other family members. Thus, the parents do not have to depend on other government benefits such as jobs and marriages.
- What Are The Other Companies That Accept EBT?
Answer:
Some companies except Kroger that accept EBT are Amazon, Walmart, Safeway, Family Dollar, Sam’s Club, Albertsons, Aldi, Costco, Target, and Vons. So, the EBT card users can go to any of the nearest stores to use the benefits.
