What Can You Buy With SNAP?

1What you can buy

• Fruits and vegetables, fresh, frozen or canned
• Meat, poultry and fish, including live shellfish
• Milk, cheese, eggs, bread, cereal, rice and pasta
• Snacks, sweets and non-alcoholic drinks
• Seeds and plants that grow food, like tomato starts or a basil plant

Neither Oregon nor Washington has a federal waiver limiting soda or candy. About two dozen other states do.

2What you can't buy

• Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes and tobacco, or anything with cannabis or CBD
• Vitamins, medicine and supplements (anything with a Supplement Facts label)
• Food that's hot when you pay for it, like a hot rotisserie chicken or deli meals
• Live animals, other than shellfish and fish
• Things that aren't food: pet food, paper towels, soap, diapers, toothpaste, cosmetics

3Get more for your SNAP

• Oregon: Double Up Food Bucks matches SNAP for fruits and vegetables at many farmers markets and some stores.
• Washington: SNAP Market Match gives you extra money for fruits and vegetables at participating markets.
• Online: many big grocery stores take EBT online. You can't use SNAP for delivery fees.

4Can I use SNAP at restaurants?

Not yet in Oregon or Washington. Oregon is building a Restaurant Meals Program for people 60+, people with a disability and people without housing. It will start in a few test areas. We'll add it here when it opens.

5Common questions

Can I buy energy drinks?

If the can has a Nutrition Facts label, yes. If it has a Supplement Facts label, no.

Can I buy a birthday cake?

Yes. Bakery cakes are food. Non-food decorations are OK as long as they're not most of the price.

What about cold deli food?

Cold prepared food, like a cold sandwich or salad, is fine. It just can't be hot when you pay.

Can I use SNAP online?

Yes, at stores that accept EBT online, including several large grocery chains. SNAP pays for the food; delivery and service fees need another payment method.