Why do some places not accept EBT as payment?

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Why do some places not accept EBT as payment?

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2 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

First off, only grocery stores that sell “staple foods” qualify to accept food stamps.

To accept EBT, retailers have to apply to the USDA, meet their criteria (verified by inspection), train all their employees on how EBT works, and renew their license every five years. If a business doesn’t want to go through all that, they can’t accept food stamps.

If a retailer doesn’t get a lot of customers paying in food stamps, they may choose not to bother. Some upscale places may intentionally choose not to accept EBT because they don’t want to be associated with low-income shoppers.

Anonymous 0 Comments

In most cases, EBT can’t be used for “prepared foods” like rotisserie chicken at the front of the grocery store, but it can be used on whole chickens that you cook yourself. If most of a store’s offerings fall into the “prepared” category it probably doesn’t make sense to go through the process of setting up EBT.