21-05 Version of 1.1.2 FoodShare Benefits

FNS Memo 12/18/14,
Online waiver approval 2020

FoodShare benefits are used to purchase food at authorized FoodShare retailers, including grocery stores, farmers markets, direct-marketing farmersFarmer-producers who sell their own agricultural products directly to the general public, particularly fresh fruits and vegetables (but also meat products, dairy, and grains)., and select online retailers that participate in FoodShare. Benefits may be used anywhere in the United States, regardless of the origin of issuance.

Example 1

Joan lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Joan calls her agency and asks if she can purchase food while visiting a friend in Mississippi. The answer is "Yes." She can purchase food anywhere SNAP-EBT is accepted nationwide.

Example 2

Jack reported he moved from Wisconsin to California. Jack’s FoodShare case was closed. However, Jack still has FoodShare benefits in his EBT account. Jack is allowed to spend his remaining FoodShare benefits while living in California, even if he starts to receive SNAP benefits in California.

FoodShare benefits are deposited in a member's account using an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system and are spent using a debit card called the Wisconsin QUEST card. The Wisconsin QUEST card allows access to FoodShare benefits through point-of-sale, swipe card terminals, or online EBT payment options with participating SNAP retailers. These transactions look like any other debit card transaction and are free to the cardholder.

FoodShare benefits can be used to buy foods such as:

Breads and cereals
Fruits and vegetables
Meats, fish, and poultry
Dairy products
Seeds and plants that produce food for the household to eat

FoodShare benefits cannot be used to buy items such as:

Nonfood items (pet foods, paper products, soaps, household supplies, grooming items, toothpaste, cosmetics, etc.)
Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes, or tobacco
Food that will be eaten in the store
Hot foods (for example, food that is purchased and cooked at the store)
Vitamins and medicines

Hot foods are only excluded if they are hot at the time they are sold. Occasionally grocery stores will chill hot foods; these items are then eligible for purchase with FoodShare benefits.

If a container deposit fee is required when purchasing an eligible food item, this additional fee cannot be paid by using FoodShare benefits. The container deposit fee must be paid in cash or through another form of payment.

If the member has questions about specific food items, refer the member to the Food and Nutrition Service’s list of eligible food items.

If the member eats at a group meal site for the elderly or has meals delivered to the member's home, FoodShare benefits can pay for these meals if the facility or meal provider is an authorized FoodShare retailer.

FoodShare benefits can be used for meals within a group setting if the facility is authorized to accept QUEST cards and the member is staying in a drug and alcohol treatment center, a shelter for victims of domestic violence, a shelter for the homelessAn individual who lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence or an individual whose primary nighttime residence is: 1) A supervised shelter designed to provide temporary accommodations (such as a welfare hotel or congregate shelter), 2) A halfway house or similar institution that provides temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, 3) A temporary accommodation for not more than 90 days in the residence of another individual, or 4) A place not designed for, or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (for example, a hallway, bus station, a lobby, or similar places). or a group home for people with disabilities.

This page last updated in Release Number: 21-05
Release Date: 12/13/2021
Effective Date: 12/13/2021