22 Fast Food Restaurants that Accept EBT Near Me (2023)

What Fast Food Places Take EBT?

Fast Food Restaurants the accept Ca...

Fast Food Restaurants the accept Calfresh EBT

Before going to the list, let me tell you what EBT and SNAP is, what you need to know about them and what you can or cannot buy using EBT if you are new to this or don’t know much.

Are you someone who doesn’t know where to use their EBT card? Your EBT card lets you pay at different fast-food restaurants for much less than you would normally pay. The purpose of this article is to let you know all the fast-food restaurants and places that take payments through the EBT card.

Before we begin, you need to have some information about the Restaurant Meals Program. To be eligible for the EBT card, you need to qualify for the RMP as well. The RMP lets people use their EBT card to buy at certain restaurants that don’t accept EBT otherwise.

Now let’s come to EBT. EBT is primarily a system that allows people to transfer their government money electronically from a federal account to pay for food and similar products at different retail places.

The EBT has launched in all 50 states as of 2004 which means it has been around everywhere in the US for a very long time. Moreover, it is also available in the Virgin Islands, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

The EBT system works with the help of an EBT card that works in a similar manner to a normal credit or debit card. The card contains benefits such as cash benefits and food stamps for people. The EBT card can also be used to pay for food at fast-food places which are what this article aims to cover.

The EBT card includes what is known as SNAP benefits. The SNAP benefit is just a fancier name for the state-funded program Food Stamps Program that is managed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The purpose of SNAP benefit is to provide federally operated assistance to citizens so they can meet their nutritional requirements.

The process of signing up for food stamps depends upon you getting in touch with the agency that runs these programs and applies from there. In addition to this, the agency will see if you meet all the eligibility requirements before moving on with your application. Not everyone is eligible for applying for SNAP benefits.

Once you have been qualified for the SNAP benefit, you will receive your EBT card in a couple of days. The EBT card is quite similar to a regular debit or credit card and lets you pay for food items the same way you would use a debit or credit card to pay for them.

There are some items you can purchase with an EBT card and some you cannot. Food is one of the items that are mostly eligible for food stamps. However, there are a couple of food items that are excluded from the SNAP benefit.

In most cases, EBT works for items that can be bought and taken home to be prepared. There are a few exceptions to that as well. For instance, you cannot buy hot food that is being made at a restaurant and pay with your EBT card.

Food items such as fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, and poultry, cereal and bread, dairy products, household food items, seeds, and nuts can be bought by using food stamps.

On the contrary, there are a couple of things that don’t qualify for food stamps. These items include alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, liquor, tobacco, and cigarettes, paper products such as towels, household supplies, medications and vitamins, freshly prepared foods, food meant to be eaten at the restaurant, soaps, and pet essentials. These ineligible items include both food items and non-food items alike.

Now you know what items you can expect to buy at a restaurant. So without further ado, let’s get straight to the list:

Fast Food that Accept EBT Near Me:

McDonald’s

It’s no surprise that McDonald’s ended up on this list. Being one of the largest fast-food places in the foodservice realm, McDonald’s has established and managed over 13,500 branches in the US alone.

It’s also one of the easiest and hassle-free choices amongst people when it comes to fast food.

Before we begin, it should be brought to your attention that not all McDonald’s locations accept EBT. There are specific places that take payments through EBT cards.

These locations are registered with the Restaurant Meals Program that is offered in states such as Arizona and California.

To qualify for this, the person must be elderly, homeless, or be someone living with a disability, and come from any of the states that offer RMP to its citizens.

The reason why all McDonald’s locations don’t accept EBT is that not all states participate in the Restaurant Meals Program. Even after you order food, the SNAP will reject it because the food is prepared in the restaurant and supposed to be eaten there technically.

That is why we recommended you carry a credit or debit card with you to the location in case you find out the place doesn’t cater to EBT participants.

22 Fast Food Restaurants that Accept EBT Near Me (2023)

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