How to Use EBT on Instacart
With the surge of demand for online grocery shopping, Instacart started accepting EBT/food stamps to make grocery delivery more accessible to consumers.
Instacart takes EBT in select states at participating stores, including ALDI, Food Lion, Publix, Giant Food, Hannaford, Stop and Shop, Piggly Wiggly, Martin’s, Brookshire’s, Super 1, Food Bazaar, United Supermarkets, and more. Instacart continues to expand its EBT coverage by adding more grocery stores to this list.
In this article, I’ll share with you the full list of grocery stores and states where Instacart takes EBT. Additionally, I’ll walk you through how to use EBT cards on Instacart and how to pay for additional charges like tips, delivery, and service fees.
I’ll also cover the list of eligible food items you can purchase using your SNAP/EBT benefits, so keep on reading!
List of Grocery Stores and States Instacart Takes EBT
Below, you can find the full list of grocery stores and states where you can use your EBT card with Instacart:
| Grocery Stores | States |
| Aldi | Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Connecticut District of Columbia Delaware Florida Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Vermont Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin |
| Brookshire’s Food & Pharmacy | Arkansas Texas |
| CashSaver | Oklahoma Texas |
| EatWell | Illinois Indiana Missouri Wisconsin |
| Food Bazaar | New York |
| Food Lion | Delaware Georgia Kentucky Maryland North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Virginia West Virginia |
| Food-World | Oklahoma Texas |
| FoodMaxx | California Nevada |
| Fresh by Brookshire’s | Arkansas Texas |
| Giant Food | District of Columbia Delaware Maryland Pennsylvania Virginia |
| Hannaford | Maine New Hampshire New York Vermont |
| Homeland | Oklahoma Texas |
| Lucky Supermarkets | California Nevada |
| Market 32 | Connecticut Massachusetts New York Pennsylvania Vermont |
| Market Bistro | New York |
| Martin’s | Maryland Pennsylvania Virginia West Virginia |
| Niemann Foods | Illinois |
| Piggly Wiggly | Georgia |
| Price Chopper Supermarkets | Connecticut Massachusetts New Hampshire New York Pennsylvania Vermont |
| Publix | Alabama Florida Georgia North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Virginia |
| Save Mart | California Nevada |
| Schnucks | Illinois Indiana Missouri Wisconsin |
| Spring Market | Arkansas Texas |
| Stop & Shop | Connecticut Massachusetts New Jersey New York Rhode Island |
| Strack & Van Til | Indiana |
| Super 1 Foods | Arkansas Texas |
| Tops Friendly Markets | New York Pennsylvania Vermont |
| Town and Country | Indiana |
| United Supermarkets | Oklahoma Texas |
| Van Til’s Supermarket | Indiana |
| Woodman’s Market | Wisconsin |
How to Use EBT on Instacart
To use an EBT card on Instacart, first, you need to add it to your account. Follow the instructions below on adding an EBT card to your Instacart account:
- Download the Instacart app on your iOS or Android device
- Open the Instacart app and signup for an account
- Enter your e-mail, password, and zip code to confirm service availability in your area
- Tap the three “horizontal lines” at the top left corner of your profile page
- Tap “Your account settings”
- Tap “Payment methods”
- Tap “ Add EBT SNAP card”
- Enter your EBT SNAP card information
After adding the EBT card, go back to your profile page and select the store you want to shop in the “Your Stores” section. You will then be directed to the store’s homepage to start shopping.
You have two options to receive groceries with Instacart – delivery or curbside pickup. Select the option you prefer and start adding items to your shopping cart.
When you’re done shopping, the next step is checkout.
At checkout, select how much of your benefits you want to allocate to your order.
The remaining balance should be paid with another payment method, such as a credit or debit card.
Adding a credit or debit card as a payment method on Instacart is similar to adding an EBT card. Follow the instructions below on how to do it:
- Go to your profile page and tap the three “horizontal lines” at the top left
- Tap “Your account settings”
- Tap “Payment methods”
- Tap “ Add Credit or debit card”
- Enter your credit/debit card information
You need to add a secondary payment method like a credit or debit card to complete your Instacart purchase.
This is because there are some charges which are not covered by your benefits, and I’ll explain this in more detail below.
Can You Pay Instacart Delivery and Service Fees With an EBT Card?
Unfortunately, you cannot pay Instacart delivery and service fees with an EBT card. According to SNAP guidelines, you can only buy eligible food items using your benefits.
That means you need a secondary form of payment, such as a credit or debit card, to pay for Instacart delivery and service fees.
SNAP guidelines are clear on what items can be purchased using the benefits.
EBT cardholders can only buy eligible food items using an EBT card, and Instacart delivery and service fees are not covered by the benefits.
Therefore, you need to add a credit or debit card to your Instacart account to pay for those additional charges.
Can You Tip Instacart Drivers With an EBT Card?
You cannot tip your Instacart driver with an EBT card. Similar to Instacart delivery and service fees, tips cannot be paid using the SNAP/EBT benefits.
You can only tip the driver using the credit or debit card on your Instacart account or give cash at the time of delivery.
Be sure to add a secondary payment method to Instacart to tip your driver and pay for the Instacart delivery and service fees mentioned above.
This payment method will also be needed if you purchase items that are not eligible for SNAP benefits.
How Does Instacart Work?
Today, Instacart aims to close the food insecurity gap by launching EBT SNAP on the platform. We’re particularly proud to kick this program off in Georgia where food insecurity impacts 12.5% of the population. pic.twitter.com/vq7shqJGQe
— Instacart (@Instacart) October 22, 2020
Now that you installed the Instacart app and added your EBT card and the secondary payment method, you’re ready to start shopping!
In this section, I’ll explain how Instacart works for online grocery orders.
Instacart app is intuitive and easy to navigate. You can shop for groceries both using the app and the website.
I prefer to use the app because I usually place my grocery orders on the go.
What I like most about the Instacart app is that it remembers your past orders and replacement instructions for each item.
You don’t need to create a shopping list from scratch or provide instructions each time you place an order.
Most people tend to reorder the same items to restock their fridges or pantries, so this feature comes in handy to streamline the shopping process!
The checkout process is very straightforward. We already covered how to add your EBT card and the secondary payment method to your account.
Select how much you want to pay with your EBT card at checkout, and the rest will be charged to your credit/debit card, including tips, delivery, and service fees.
When your order is received in the system, the Instacart driver will start shopping for your items. You can also chat with the driver while they are shopping.
If they have any questions about an item or you want to give additional instructions, you can communicate through the chat feature on the app.
When the shopping is complete, the driver will deliver the order within the timeframe you specified at checkout.
Items You Can Buy With EBT
USDA has strict guidelines on what items can be purchased using the SNAP/EBT benefits.
According to their website, below are the items you can buy with an EBT card on Instacart – or at any grocery store:
The eligible food items you can buy using an EBT card include:
- Vegetables and fruits
- Poultry, meat, and fish
- Breads
- Cereals
- Snack foods
- Non-alcoholic beverages
- Seeds and plants that produce food to eat
The non-eligible items you cannot buy with an EBT card include:
- Any alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, liquor, etc.)
- Tobacco and cigarettes
- Vitamins, supplements, and medicines (if an item has a supplement facts label on the packaging, it’s considered a supplement and not eligible to buy with an EBT card)
- Live animals (except shellfish, fish that were removed from the water, and animals slaughtered before buying at the store)
- Prepared foods that are ready for consumption
- Hot foods
- Any non-food items (pet foods, cosmetics, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, paper products, and other household items)
Conclusion
I expect Instacart will continue to expand its EBT/SNAP coverage by adding more grocery stores to the list.
While using EBT on Instacart is pretty simple, be sure to add a secondary payment method to cover additional charges like tips, delivery, and service fees!
For more information about Instacart, check out the articles below:
Related Articles:
9 Tips to Save Money on Instacart Orders
Can You Buy Groceries Online With EBT? (Yes, Here’s Where)
How to Order Groceries From Aldi With Curbside Pickup
