Can you buy gingerbread houses on food stamps

Eligible Food Items:

Foods for the household to eat, such as: 

• breads and cereals
• fruits and vegetables 
• meats, fish and poultry 
• dairy products

Seeds and plants which produce food for the household to eat.

Non-Eligible Food Items:

Households CANNOT use SNAP benefits to buy:

• Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes or tobacco
• Any nonfood items, such as: pet foods, soaps, paper products, household supplies
• Vitamins and medicines
• Food that will be eaten in the store
• Hot foods

"Junk Food" & Luxury Items

The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (the Act) defines eligible food as any food or food product for home consumption and also includes seeds and plants which produce food for consumption by SNAP households. The Act prohibits the following items from being purchased with SNAP benefits:  alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, hot food and any food sold for on-premises consumption. Nonfood items such as pet foods, soaps, paper products, medicines and vitamins, household supplies, grooming items, and cosmetics, also are ineligible for purchase with SNAP benefits.   

Soft drinks, candy, cookies, snack crackers, and ice cream are food items and are therefore eligible items.

Seafood, steak, and bakery cakes are also food items and are therefore eligible items.

Energy Drinks

When considering the eligibility of energy drinks, and other branded products, the primary determinant is the type of product label chosen by the manufacturer to conform to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines:

• Energy drinks that have a nutrition facts label are eligible foods.
• Energy drinks that have a supplement facts label are classified by the FDA as supplements, and are therefore not eligible.

Live Animals

Generally live animals and birds are not eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits. Live seafood such as lobsters, fish and shellfish may be purchased with SNAP benefits.

Pumpkins, Holiday Gift Baskets, and Special Occasion Cakes

Pumpkins are edible and eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits. However, inedible gourds and pumpkins that are used solely for ornamental purposes are not eligible items.

Gift baskets that contain both food and non-food items, are not eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits if the value of the non-food items exceeds 50 percent of the purchase price. To read the most recent notice about gift baskets, click here.

Items such as birthday and other special occasion cakes are eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits as long as the value of non-edible decorations does not exceed 50 percent of the purchase price of the cake. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture / “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).” Food and Nutrition Service, 17 Nov. 2017,

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Reductions in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps, automatically kick in today as a result of the expiration of provisions the 2009 stimulus bill. Meanwhile, Congressional leaders are debating what further cuts will be made to the program as part of negotiations over the farm bill. Republicans are pushing to make benefits less generous and to increase work requirements; Democrats disagree.

An issue that hasn’t gotten as much attention during these debates is what food-stamp recipients are able to buy with their benefits. Public health advocates like Michele Simon have long argued that the lack of restrictions on the types of food aid-recipients can buy has helped fuel an American health crisis caused by unhealthy eating. Writes Simon:

“Much attention has focused on how agricultural subsidies fuel our cheap, unhealthy food supply. In reality, the largest and most overlooked taxpayer subsidy to Big Food in the farm bill is SNAP, which now represents more than ten percent of all grocery spending.”

So what exactly can SNAP recipients buy with their benefits? There are a few restrictions, against alcohol, and tobacco for instance. But curiously, most junk food is fair game, calling into question whether the “nutrition” in SNAP means much to lawmakers at all. Here are just a few of the items one can buy:

• Red Bull
• Sugary Soda
• Candy
• Mixes for alcoholic beverages
• Artificial sweetener

Of course, big agribusiness is complicit in the structure of the food stamp program. Simon gives the example of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s effort to bar food-stamp recipients from buying sugary soft drinks with SNAP dollars. Big companies like Pepsi and Coca-Cola fought back against the measure, which was ultimately vetoed by the Department of Agriculture, saying that the measure would be unworkable.

But take a look at the current restrictions the Agriculture Department places on food stamp use, and it’s difficult to understand why proscribing junk food purchases would be all that difficult. The list of items that one can’t buy with food stamps but that are also commonly found in supermarkets is extensive, including the aforementioned alcohol, but also pet food, ornamental gourds, and prepared foods. Why would barring junk food be functionally different than barring alcohol?

Hunger advocates have pushed back against food-stamp restrictions. But as Simon points out, Walmart and other corporate beneficiaries of SNAP spend millions of dollars each year funding anti-poverty groups. This is laudable, but it is also perhaps a way to fund advocacy initiatives that dovetail with these corporations profit motive as well.