See How Free Groceries Are Now Easier To Get

Did you have zero problems paying for groceries before the pandemic? If so, that may have changed if you lost your job or saw your income decrease. But even if your income stayed the same, the ever-increasing price of groceries could be straining your budget.

For these reasons, now’s the best time to apply for food stamps (aka SNAP benefits), as the program has seen some positive changes as of late to make nutritious grocery items more accessible for struggling families. Let’s look at those changes now.

1. For the first time since 1975, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is getting a historic increase in its benefits.

2. The increase is occurring thanks to Congress, which pressured the U.S. Department of Agriculture into closely analyzing the Thrifty Food Plan, which calculates how much a family would need to buy a month’s worth of healthy groceries.

3. By increasing monthly SNAP benefits, families can now afford to buy healthier foods that can sometimes be outside of their budgets, such as red and orange vegetables plus fish.

4. The SNAP increase began on October 1, 2021, and positively impacts almost all households who receive monthly food stamp benefits. As it is automatic, households already receiving food stamps do not have to do anything new to benefit from the increase.

5. Although food stamps increased temporarily due to the coronavirus pandemic, this latest increase is permanent.

6. The SNAP benefit increase amounts to 27 percent, which averages an extra $36 per food stamp recipient per month. Contact your local SNAP office to see how much you could receive in food stamps per month, as each operates differently.

7. If you have kids, you may see extra funds on your EBT card due to Pandemic-EBT or P-EBT. These funds are meant to help parents replace low-cost or free school meals.

8. SNAP can now be used for online grocery delivery, which is great news if you’re still looking to play it safe and social distance at home instead of shopping in person.

Online Grocery Delivery Using Your EBT Card

If you needed an extra nudge to apply for SNAP, this might be it. Now that you can use your EBT card for online grocery delivery, you can cut costs and enjoy the convenience of getting your items delivered straight to your door.

There are several ways to enjoy online grocery delivery with your SNAP EBT card. For starters, you can shop on the Amazon website and look for items labeled “SNAP EBT eligible.” Select those items to your cart, pay with your EBT card’s details, and you can get them delivered for free.

Walmart is also accepting EBT for online grocery delivery, so you can skip the line while saving, thanks to SNAP. Lastly, you can use your EBT card with Instacart for free grocery delivery.
Some grocery stores affiliated with this change include Publix, Food Lion, ALDI, Save Mart, and more.