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Trader Joe's

Does Trader Joe’s Accept/Take EBT, SNAP or Food Stamps? (Store Policy)

Trader Joe’s EBT Policy: Paying with EBT at grocery stores means that people who receive government assistance can use their benefits cards to purchase food.

The program is run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and allows people to buy things like bread, milk, meat, and produce.

Also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), it is designed to help low-income families afford healthy food.

So, if you are a participant of the SNAP program, you can use your EBT card to purchase food items at participating retailers.

Food Stamp benefits can be used like cash to buy most foods, including bread, cereals, fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, poultry, and dairy products.

Have a Trader Joe’s store in your neighborhood? Wondering if Trader Joe’s lets you pay with your EBT card?

Keep on reading to find out Trader Joe’s accepted payment forms including EBT/SNAP/Food Stamps, the store’s policy, EBT items it sells, using your EBT card online, and a lot more!

Does Trader Joe’s Take EBT?

As per Trader Joe’s EBT Policy in 2022, you can use your EBT card to purchase eligible food items. So, Trader Joe’s accepts EBT cards with SNAP benefits and cash benefits.

Under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), EBT cardholders are only allowed to use their benefits to purchase approved food items.

Even TANF benefits can be used to purchase food items from Trader Joe’s.

TANF is the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program that provides cash assistance to low-income families with children.

So, if you have an EBT card and you’re looking to do some grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s, be sure to check and see if the items you’re intending to buy are on the list of approved food items.

You can also contact your local Trader Joe’s store to see if they offer any special discounts or promotions for EBT cardholders.

And also, get to know about the payment policies of that particular store.

Policy

As per its store policy, Trader Joe’s takes both EBT and P-EBT cards.

If you are a P-EBT cardholder, you can pay for all of your purchases in the same way as an EBT cardholder.

However, Trader Joe’s EBT Policy also has several restrictions on the items that can be purchased with SNAP benefits.

These are in addition to the restrictions that apply nationwide to all SNAP beneficiaries.

For example, you cannot use SNAP benefits to buy products such as hot foods that are ready to eat, vitamins and medicines, cosmetics, or any non-food items.

EBT cards can be used to purchase a variety of items at Trader Joe’s locations, including food items, so cardholders can still get the essentials they need.

However, you are not allowed to use your EBT card to purchase certain items like alcohol, tattoos, ammunition, lottery tickets, bail, tobacco, etc.

EBT Items

Here’s a table of eligible & non-eligible items –

You Can BuyYou Cannot Buy
MeatTobacco
BreadAlcohol
CerealsCosmetics
SeedsVitamins
FruitsMedicines
PlantsPaper Products
FishAmmunition
VegetablesBail
PoultryNon-food Items
Snack FoodsPet Foods
Dairy ProductsSupplements
Non-Alcoholic BeveragesCleaning Supplies
EBT Approved Items At Trader Joe’s Stores

Using EBT Card At Trader Joe’s

Steps to use your EBT card at Trader Joe’s –

  1. Visit a Trader Joe’s location
  2. Shop for the items you want
  3. Go to the checkout
  4. Swipe your EBT card
  5. Enter your 4-digit PIN
  6. Take the receipt

Remember that the items you add to your shopping cart should be approved EBT items.

Because when you try to use your card for buying ineligible items, the cashier will not be able to process the purchase.

In such a case, there’s no need to worry, you can always pay for those items using your debit card or credit card or any other payment method accepted by Trader Joe’s.

Self-Checkout

As of 2022, Trader Joe’s doesn’t have self-checkout machines at its stores.

If you are wondering about using your EBT card at a Trader Joe’s self-checkout counter, you need to know that Trader Joe’s stores rely on manual cash registers.

So, when you want to pay with EBT benefits at Trader Joe’s, first let the cashier know that you wanna use your EBT card.

Then, swipe the card and enter the PIN to complete the transaction!

Using EBT Online

As per its policies, Trader Joe’s does not accept EBT cards as a form of payment online. In fact, Trader Joe’s doesn’t allow you to place an order online.

The only thing you can do on the store’s official web portal is create a shopping list and print it to bring to the store.

This helps you save time when you go to the store, as you can already have your list of items ready.

If you’re looking for a way to use your EBT card to purchase Trader Joe’s products, you may want to try ordering online from other places that offer delivery and in-store pick-up.

EBT Locations

Wondering if the Trader Joe’s store near you accepts EBT? Don’t worry! All Trader Joe’s locations in the U.S take EBT.

EBT is an accepted payment method at all Trader Joe’s stores across the United Stores. However, you cannot use your card online.

If you want to clear all your doubts about using EBT benefits at a nearby Trader Joe’s, it’s best to make a phone call and speak with a store associate of that store.

WIC

If you are a mother looking to make use of your WIC benefits at a grocery store near you, I would recommend you to visiting any other store instead of Trader Joe’s.

Because Trader Joe’s doesn’t take WIC.

WIC is not an accepted payment form at Trader Joe’s stores as the company is not an approved vendor under this program.

The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program currently have vendors such as Kroger, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Publix, Walmart, etc.

If you don’t already know, there are some stores that specialize in selling WIC items and are known as WIC-only stores.

Read this article on WIC-Only Stores to find a store that sells WIC-eligible items.

Trader Joe’s Payment Methods

These payment methods are accepted at Trader Joe’s –

  • EBT
  • Cash
  • Debit Cards
  • Credit Cards
  • Checks
  • Apple Pay
  • Samsung Pay
  • Google Pay

These are the accepted payment methods at Trader Joe’s stores.

EBT cards can be used to pay for items approved for that program whereas you can make use of any other payment method like Apple Pay or Google Pay or cash or debit/credit cards to pay for all other products.

Summary

Trader Joe’s is a grocery store that accepts EBT cards. If you are a participant of the government’s SNAP program, you can use your food stamp or EBT card at Trader Joe’s to purchase eligible items. You can buy items such as bread, cereals, fruits, dairy, plants, non-alcoholic beverages, fruits, and vegetables at Trader Joe’s using your EBT benefits.