Does Uber Eats Accept EBT? No, But There's A Loophole (2024)

Does Uber Eats Take EBT?

Uber Eats can not accept EBT because they are a restaurant delivery service, meaning they deal with the translation of hot foods from the restaurant, to the courier, to the customer.

EBT, or its more modern name SNAP(Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), is made to provide key food ingredients for low-income families.

However, there are food retailers who accept EBT as long as your purchase revolves around items that may produce meals from dairy and animal products, bread and cereals, produce, and even seeds to grow your food for the family.

Kroger, Publix, and Walmart are some of the few food retailers that allow you to use EBT through their own or third-party applications.

Why Does Uber Eats Not Accept EBT?

Remember, EBT provides a supply of food products for low-income families. This means they can cook and create their homemade meals through EBT/SNAP/Food Stamps without needing to order food elsewhere.

Uber Eats is not meant to be singled out from its competitors – they each remain in the same tank. As long as there is a want for hot food items, EBT will not provide them.

Think of EBT as something to give over time: a hot meal purchased from a restaurant lasts for, at most, a few minutes.

If you use EBT to buy hundreds of dollars worth of produce, poultry, dairy products, and snacks for a family of six, those homemade meals could last for a week or more.

If one was allowed to use EBT with a delivery service such as Uber Eats, then that low-income family would rarely have enough assistance from said program to provide their family with necessary ingredients like those mentioned above to create long-lasting meals for their homes.

On the other hand, if you and your family visit a restaurant and pay for a meal that costs hundreds of dollars, the meals you all have may only last an hour or so.

That’s the beauty of EBT. They understand the limitations of allowing one to pay for hot foods with the program.

The EBT Loophole: Buying Cold Foods

This is where the loophole comes through. While EBT may not purchase hot foods, cold foods can under the right circ*mstances.

Say you would like to buy a prepared salad or cold sandwich from a Publix, Whole Foods, Sprouts, etc. In this case, EBT can be used.

Why? SNAP/EBT is, ultimately, a nutritional assistance program.

Not all hot foods at the point of sale are relatively nutritional, and most hot foods get eaten on the spot, which contradicts the point of at-home eating.

Although, cold foods like contained salads and wrapped sandwiches can be taken home to be eaten later, thus being permitted as an eligible EBT purchase.

Ultimately, Uber Eats will not be your destination for EBT purchases as they only deliver restaurant-made ready-to-eat hot or cold foods.

Can I Use EBT to Buy Non-Food Items?

As we have discussed before, EBT, or SNAP, is a nutritional assistance program. This means something needs to be edible.

Toiletries, soaps, pharmaceuticals, and even designated pet food cannot be purchased with EBT.

EBT purchases need to be viable for human consumption to benefit their well-being and provide for a family.

You can find more information about this on the USDA Food and Nutrition Servicewebsite.

What Food Delivery Systems Accept EBT?

Many local grocery stores have succeeded in doing this, and some useful apps like DoorDash which does not solely deliver hot foods.

The difference between DoorDash and Instacart’s delivery preferences is their coherence with their stores.

• Instacart works with small chain suppliers like Aldi and Publix.
• Walmart, Amazon Fresh, and Food Lion each use EBTthrough their websites.
• DoorDash can be used with local grocery stores like Florida’s Black Radish Grocery DTSP or Rolling Oats in St. Petersburg, FL.

It is all a nice convenience for the shopper, and while some may be bummed about the inability to purchase hot foods through Uber Eats with EBT/SNAP/Food Stamps, there are still many other choices of purchase with your Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Final Thoughts

While you may never be able to purchase hot foods from your favorite restaurants through Uber Eats using EBT, you will still be happy to know that there’s a workaround.

Many brick-and-mortar stores will happily take EBT for your nutritionally-beneficial grocery needs to help support yourself and your family.

Uber Eats cannot accept EBT, though it may accept other forms of payment for your restaurant cravings.

If you choose to use something other than EBT, we recommend checking out the other delivery services which use EBT.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment, and we’ll answer it as soon as we can!

About The Author

Brett Helling

Brett Helling has been a rideshare driver since early 2012, having completed hundreds of trips for companies including Uber, Lyft, and Postmates.Since that time, he has expanded his knowledge into the Teach Me Delivery site, as well as writing the book Gigworker: Independent Work and the State of the Gig Economy Paperback, now available on Amazon.