How to Use SNAP

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) puts your monthly benefit on the Nevada Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, a plastic card that looks and works like a debit card. Once you are approved for SNAP benefits, it can take up to seven days for the card to be mailed to the address on your application. Every month your EBT card will be reloaded with your SNAP benefit amount.

You can use your Nevada EBT Card to buy food:

• At grocery stores. Look for a posted sign that says that the store is able to accept EBT cards before you start shopping.
• At participating farmers markets and farm stands.
• Online, from retailers like Amazon and Walmart. Learn which stores in Nevada accept EBT cards online.

You can use SNAP benefits on your EBT card to buy:

• Foods for the household to eat, such as:
  • Breads and cereals
  • Fruits and vegetables
  • Meats, fish, and poultry
  • Dairy products
  • Infant formula, and
• Seeds and plants which produce food for the household to eat.

SNAP benefits cannot be used to buy:

• Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes or tobacco
• Any nonfood items, such as:
  • Pet foods
  • Soaps
  • Paper products
  • Household supplies
• Vitamins and medicines
• Food to be eaten in the store or hot foods, or
• Food in a restaurant.

Get more details about using the Nevada EBT Card.

Emergency Food Program

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is a federal program to give free food to people with low income, through soup kitchens or food banks. This means you may be able to get an extra food box, on top of your SNAP benefits. To get food from this program, your household income must be under 185% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG).

Get more info about TEFAP:

• From the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) website.
• From the Nevada Department of Agriculture website, which provides links to help you find a food bank in your area.