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Greater Chicago area consumers who shop at Jewel-Osco can use their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program e-Benefit Transfer Cards to purchase food at participating locations.
See: Why don’t all grocery stores accept SNAP EBT food stamps?
Find: The 15 best things to buy with SNAP at Costco
Jewel-Osco, owned by Albertson’s, operates 188 stores in the Chicagoland area of Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. Like most American grocery chains, its stores accept SNAP EBT cards for food purchases. SNAP is a federal program for families who need financial assistance to buy food. Eligible consumers previously paid with food stamps, but now use reloadable EBT debit cards.
Although SNAP is part of the United States Department of Agriculture, the program itself is run at the state level. Different states have different rules, so check with the appropriate agency in your state to find out how the program works and when your EBT card is topped up.
In addition to accepting EBT cards for in-store purchases, Jewel-Osco also lists 20 locations that allow you to use the card to pay for online purchases that can be picked up in-store. Of these, 18 are in Illinois.
Explore: SNAP Benefits — When will my card be reloaded?
To order online, log in to your Jewel-Osco account and find a store in your area that accepts SNAP online orders. You will book a pickup time, add items to your cart, checkout, and select SNAP EBT (pickup only) as your payment method. When you arrive at the store, you will make the payment with your EBT card and/or your EBT payment card. Cashback is not available for pickup orders.
You can include non-SNAP eligible items in your pickup order, but they must be paid for separately using a personal debit card, credit card, or EBT charge card.
According to the USDA, you can use your EBT card to purchase most food items, including the following:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Meat, poultry and fish
- Dairy products
- Breads and cereals
- Other foods such as snack foods and soft drinks
- Seeds and plants that produce food to eat
Some of the items you cannot purchase with the EBT card include alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, vitamins, drugs, supplements, pet food, cleaning products, paper products and cosmetics.
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