Supermarket produce is available for purchase with New York food stamp benefits.
Families with low incomes may be eligible for food stamps to help buy food, but some items are off limits as food stamp purchases. The state's Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance administers the food stamp program using guidelines from a federal government agency called the Food and Nutrition Service. The FNS allows the use of food stamp benefits to buy most foods.
Eligible
As established by Food and Nutrition Service regulations, items that are eligible for purchase with food stamps include anything from the core food groups: breads and cereals, fruits and vegetables, dairy products and meat, fish and poultry. Families may not use food stamp benefits to buy food for consumption in the store or hot food. They may, however, buy seeds and plants that will eventually produce food for human consumption.
Ineligible
Nonfood items are not eligible for purchase with food stamps. The list includes alcoholic and tobacco products, vitamins and medicines, pet foods, household supplies and other household items such as soaps and paper products. Families that need help buying common household products aside from food could consider applying for cash assistance through the New York welfare program.
Misconceptions
What people sometimes refer to as "junk foods" in fact are eligible for purchase with food stamps. A law called the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 left items such as soda, ice cream, candy and baked goods off the list of ineligible purchases. In October 2010, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to add soda to the list of ineligible items for residents using food stamps. According to FNS, any change to the list of eligible items would require congressional action.
Considerations
The Food and Nutrition Service takes into account manufacturer product labels when determining whether products such as vitamins and supplements, energy drinks and power bars are eligible for food stamp purchases. Items that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration classifies as supplements, which have supplement facts labels rather than nutrition facts labels, are ineligible for purchase with food stamps.
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