Gingerbread houses are great, just ask Hansel and Gretel. The gingerbread house is a Christmas treat that all kids love but one question remains for many people who want to make one of the holiday treats at home; is it possible to buy a gingerbread house with food stamps?
You can buy a gingerbread house with food stamps
You can buy a gingerbread house with food stamps, but you might have trouble finding the right ingredients to make it.
A house made out of gingerbread is a popular Christmas treat. But if you’re on food stamps, buying all of the ingredients might not be possible.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has strict rules about what types of food can be purchased with benefits. The only fresh produce that can be purchased with SNAP is fruits and vegetables that have not been processed in any way. That means you can buy apples and oranges, but not canned fruit cocktail or dried fruit.
SNAP also doesn’t allow beneficiaries to purchase hot foods or foods meant for immediate consumption. So no hot cereal, soup or even a sandwich would qualify as eligible purchases under SNAP’s rules.
The EBT card is accepted at more than 200,000 retail locations across the country — including many grocery stores and pharmacies — so it’s easy to think of it as a single-use tool for buying food. But while it’s meant to be used for groceries, there are plenty of other things you can buy with your EBT card:
What can you buy with food stamps?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the federally funded food stamp program that is administered by individual states. The program provides a monthly benefit to eligible low-income households, allowing them to purchase food with their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card.
What can you buy with food stamps?
SNAP benefits can be used to buy most foods, including:
Can You Buy a Gingerbread House with Food Stamps?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, is a federal program that provides financial assistance to low-income individuals and families to help them purchase nutritious food.
SNAP benefits are not limited to grocery stores; eligible items include prepared meals and hot foods, fruits and vegetables, seeds and plants which produce food for the household to eat, and plants or vines that produce food for the household to eat. SNAP benefits may be used to buy seeds, plants and trees that produce food for the household to eat. Seeds and plants that produce food for the household do not have to be grown by the recipient but may be grown by someone else who then sells or donates them to the recipient.
Gingerbread houses are considered decorations and therefore are eligible items that can be bought with SNAP benefits. You can use your SNAP benefits to buy just about anything you want, as long as it’s not alcohol, tobacco or hot foods. The only exceptions are non-food items like soap or toothpaste.
If you’re wondering whether food stamps cover gingerbread houses, you’re in luck. Both the federal government and most state governments allow them to be purchased with SNAP benefits.
Where to go for more information about using food stamps or SNAP.
If you are on SNAP, you can buy a gingerbread house with food stamps. This is possible because you can use your SNAP benefits to buy any food item that is considered healthy and nutritious. The rules about what can and cannot be bought with food stamps can be confusing, so it’s important to know where to go for more information about using food stamps or SNAP.
What Can Food Stamps Buy?
SNAP benefits can be used for any type of food product that has been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This includes fresh fruits and vegetables, canned goods, meats, dairy products, and even non-food items like seeds or pet food. However, there are some restrictions on what kinds of products you can buy with SNAP benefits.
The USDA has defined several categories of eligible foods:
Protein foods are meat, fish and poultry; eggs; beans and peas; peanut butter; nuts and seeds; soy products such as tofu; cheese and yogurt made from milk.
Grain products include breads, cereals, pasta, rice and cornmeal (GMO-free)
Vegetables include leafy greens such as spinach or kale; root vegetables such as potatoes or carrots; legumes such as.
You must make your own gingerbread house
You can buy a gingerbread house with food stamps, but you must make your own.
“I would love to have a gingerbread house from the store,” says Dana Gunders, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council and author of “Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook.” “But it’s not allowed.”
The rules for food stamp recipients are strict: Only certain types of food can be purchased with SNAP benefits (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). Specifically, the program prohibits buying prepared foods, like hot dogs or pizzas, or any other items that don’t require preparation. That means you can’t use SNAP dollars to buy most ready-made meals, sandwiches or bread products.
But you can buy almost anything else that’s edible — including candy bars and chips — because they’re considered to be basic grocery items and are therefore eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits.
Gunders says she’s been able to find plenty of ways to make homemade gingerbread houses that qualify as nutritious meals under SNAP rules: “I’ve made it with graham crackers, Oreos and marshmallows,” she says. “It’s a great way to get kids involved in cooking.”
Conclusion
The answer to can you buy a gingerbread house with food stamps is yes and no. You are able to buy items needed to make gingerbread houses, but if the house itself is edible, you cannot use food stamps.
