People provided with Food assistance by the government are usually make them confused about whether they could use EBT (Electronic Benefits transfer card) on a particular food chain like Subway. Make sure you read the complete article below if you want to know whether you can use EBT at brands like Subway or not? As of 2022, many policies have been changed by the brands and in Subway EBT can be used depending on the state and some instances. States usually offer a program called the Restaurant Meals Program (RMP) that permits the use of EBT at Subway. Currently, very few states are offering this program and so only a few Subways based on their states allow this service to be used in their stores. Details about the states and Subway that offer EBT are in the article below… There are few cases in which you are allowed to use EBT for purchasing a portion of food, especially when going for fast foods and it keeps on varying depending on several factors. For instance, one of the factors is your qualification for RMP which in some states is only available for elders, homeless, or physically disabled people. This program is limited to the states and so, very few fast-food brands tend to participate in this. To know whether your state participates in this program or not contact local agencies. Usually, for foods that are not ready-made, many food stamps for those food purchases are reserved. So, this also tells us that many fast food brands are already excluded from this.
Is Subway Part of the RMP?
Subway is already on the approved list for providing EBT services to its customers but only in the states mentioned above (That accept RMP). But not all Subway outlets offer EBT, you should check whether there is a knife and a fork logo on their doors outside that indicates whether a restaurant accepts EBT or not if you are living in one of the states that are part of RMP. Another way to tell the acceptance of EBT by a restaurant is that it would be written outside that the restaurant accepts EBT.
Can you buy cooked food through EBT?
As stated earlier, EBT is allowed usually for uncooked foods. The extensive list regarding the items allowed for EBT acceptance is as follows:
Bread and cerealFruits and VegetablesDairy ProductsMeat and fishBottled beverages
However, food that cannot be bought using EBT are:
Alcoholic beverages like wine, beer, etc. Tobacco products such as cigaretteDog and cat foods (non-human foods)Food eatable in the store (Usually bakery items)Vitamins and medicinesPrepared food
You may check your state guidelines to know more about approved food items.
Conclusion:
Although, Subway is a food chain brand that accepts EBT in a few selected states but still not all their outlets accept this facility. Contact local agencies that provide food stamps to know more about it. For most of the world, the Food Assistance program does not include readymade food, hot meals, or items that can be eaten now and mostly includes grocery items and store purchases. If your state is running through RMP then you may qualify if God forbid you are disabled, homeless, or old aged where EBT is accepted for you in selected restaurants and most outlets of Subway as well.
Q1) Where Can I Use my EBT card
Ans1) As mentioned earlier, food stamps are available for grocery items and so many fast-food companies are already excluded from it. Although, few brands accept EBT payments. As it completely depends on the state whether your food chain restaurant allows it or not (If the state is participating in the RMP program or not) so here are the following states that permit EBT as they participate in the RMP program, but they are quite a few as of 2022.
Rhode Island CaliforniaArizona
Other states are still a thought of accepting RMP but for now, these are the only states that are part of RMP and so we hope this list gets longer by the end of this year. So around 80% of the restaurants in the country are not accepting EBT.
