What is EBT?

    For those of you who don't already know, EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) is a federal welfare program that provides cash assistance and food stamps for families in need. Every month, each family is allotted a predetermined amount of cash and or food stamps, depending on how much income that family has. The funds are then put on an EBT card in between the 1st and the 15th of every month. The funds never expire, and any un-used money carries over to the next month. When using the card, the cardholder must have a pin number to operate, just like a check card. The cash is accessible from any ATM machine, but the food stamps have some slight restrictions. Food stamps must only be used on un-prepared foods, and only redeemed at participating vendors. So, for example, you can use it Papa Murphy's Take and Bake to buy a take-and-bake pizza, but not at KFC or Subway. You can buy all the ingredients to make a chicken dinner, but not those whole already cooked chickens that Cub Foods has to sell. So their are some limitations, but if you know those limitations, you can definitely work around them.