Aug. 16, 2023 at 10:49 pm

Not all states ban EBT from being used to buy liquor

August 16, 2023no commentNo tags

The claim: EBT cards can now be used to purchase liquor

A July 31 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claims public assistance benefits can now be used for age-restricted beverages.

The post says electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards are “letting you buy liquor now.”

It was shared more than 15,000 times in just over a week.

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Our rating: Partly false

The Department of Agriculture said public benefits it administers through EBT cards cannot be used to purchase alcohol. There have been no changes to this rule. Some states, however, do not explicitly ban liquor purchases from other programs that use EBT.

Benefits can be used to buy alcohol in some states

EBT, also known as electronic benefits transfer, is an electronic system that’s used to provide public benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, often referred to as SNAP, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, often referred to as WIC. These benefits allow low-income families and individuals to purchase food and other essential goods with an EBT card that has funds added to it monthly.

But those federal benefits cannot be used to purchase liquor, according to the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service

“SNAP benefits absolutely cannot cover beer, wine (or) liquor,” said USDA Food and Nutrition Service spokesperson Cherish Meadows, who said WIC follows the same guidelines.

The USDA website also says as much, stating that alcoholic beverages cannot be purchased with SNAP benefits. Other ineligible items include tobacco products, vitamins, pet food and cosmetics.

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Liquor stores may be authorized to accept SNAP benefits if they meet certain requirements, such as having a large enough food inventory, Meadows said. Recipients would still not be able to purchase alcoholic beverages at those stores but could purchase authorized items.

However, a benefit called the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, could be used in certain circumstances to buy liquor.

TANF is a time-limited program designed to support families with basic needs, per the Department of Health and Human Services website. States receive federal funding to implement the program in their respective jurisdictions and can create their own guidelines for eligibility and how recipients can use the benefits.

Like SNAP and WIC, TANF benefits are provided electronically to an EBT card that can be used to purchase goods. But unlike SNAP and WIC, TANF can be withdrawn as cash from an ATM, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

While most states have restrictions on how TANF can be used, there is no way to restrict how TANF funds withdrawn from an ATM for cash are used. That cash could be used to purchase liquor at a liquor store.

Some states also don’t explicitly restrict TANF benefits from being used to purchase alcohol, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Those states include California, which says “no person concerned with the administration of a public assistance program shall dictate how any recipient shall expend the aid granted to him.” Texas similarly does not explicitly ban alcohol purchases but says public assistance should only be used for “goods and services that are considered essential and necessary for the welfare of the family.”

The Facebook post implies there has been some change to the rules around what can be bought with EBT cards. But there have been no major changes to federal guidelines for benefit programs that use EBT cards, according to Meadows and Gabriela Sibori, press secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

Gabriela Sibori, Aug. 14, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Cherish Meadows, Aug. 8, Phone call with USA TODAY
USDA, April 14, 2021, What Can SNAP Buy?
National Conference of State Legislatures, Dec. 12, 2019, Restrictions on Use of Public Assistance Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Cards

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Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

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Not all states ban EBT from being used to buy liquor

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