In Texas, your Lone Star Card works at any grocery store, supermarket, convenience store, or farmers’ market that the USDA has authorized to accept SNAP. That answers the question of what stores accept EBT in Texas at the broadest level: thousands of locations statewide, from the biggest chains down to neighborhood corner shops and farm stands.1Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Store Type Definitions
Major Chains That Take the Lone Star Card
Most of the large grocery chains Texans shop at are authorized. H-E-B, Walmart, Kroger, Target, Aldi, Fiesta Mart, and Randall’s all accept EBT. So do many dollar stores, ethnic grocers, and independent shops, provided they stock enough staple food to meet USDA authorization standards.
Acceptance can vary store by store, especially among smaller retailers in the same brand family. Look for the Quest® logo on the entrance or near the checkout lanes. That mark confirms the store processes EBT.2EBT Project. Words to Know – Section: Quest Mark
How to Find Authorized Stores Near You
The quickest tool is the USDA’s SNAP Retailer Locator at fns.usda.gov. Type in your address or zip code and it lists every authorized retailer in the area with directions.3Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Retailer Locator The locator covers every store type that participates, including grocery stores, convenience stores, farmers’ markets, and military commissaries.1Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Store Type Definitions
Texas Health and Human Services also runs the Your Texas Benefits app and YourTexasBenefits.com for recipients.4Texas Health and Human Services. Lone Star Card For a store that isn’t listed clearly, a quick phone call ahead is the simplest way to confirm.
Buying Groceries Online with EBT in Texas
Texas SNAP recipients can also use the Lone Star Card for online grocery orders, pickup, and delivery through approved retailers.5Texas Health and Human Services. Buying Food Online with SNAP Amazon, Walmart, and H-E-B are among the main options. The full list changes, so check the USDA’s online purchasing page at fns.usda.gov/snap/online for the current roster.6Food and Nutrition Service. Stores Accepting SNAP Online
At checkout online, pick EBT as your payment method and enter your PIN. SNAP covers the eligible food items only. Delivery fees, service charges, and convenience fees have to be paid some other way, and retailers aren’t required to waive them.6Food and Nutrition Service. Stores Accepting SNAP Online5Texas Health and Human Services. Buying Food Online with SNAP
Farmers’ Markets and Double Up Food Bucks
Plenty of farmers’ markets around Texas take the Lone Star Card, which opens the door to locally grown produce, meat, and dairy. On top of that, the Double Up Food Bucks program matches SNAP spending dollar for dollar at participating markets, farm stands, mobile markets, and some grocery stores. Spend $10 in SNAP and you get another $10 to spend on fruits and vegetables.7Double Up Food Bucks. Double Up Food Bucks Texas
Not every market participates, so look up locations at doubleuptexas.org before you go. The matched funds have to be spent on fresh produce.
What You Can and Cannot Buy
SNAP covers most food and drink meant for home consumption: fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, dairy, bread, cereals, snack foods, non-alcoholic beverages, and even seeds and plants that grow food for your household.8Food and Nutrition Service. What Can SNAP Buy A useful rule: items with a Nutrition Facts label that aren’t sold hot at the counter are almost always eligible.
Even at an authorized store, several categories are off-limits:
- Alcohol and tobacco products of any kind.
- Hot food sold ready to eat, like rotisserie chicken or a heated deli sandwich.
- Vitamins and supplements (anything carrying a Supplement Facts label).
- Non-food items such as pet food, cleaning supplies, paper products, hygiene items, and cosmetics.
- Live animals, with exceptions for shellfish, fish removed from water, and animals slaughtered before pickup.8Food and Nutrition Service. What Can SNAP Buy
If your cart mixes eligible and ineligible items, the register separates them, and you pay the non-SNAP portion another way.
New Texas Rule on Candy and Sweetened Drinks
Starting April 1, 2026, Texas restricts SNAP purchases of candy and sweetened drinks. This goes beyond the standard federal SNAP rules and applies even at stores that otherwise accept the Lone Star Card.9Texas Health and Human Services. SNAP Purchase Restrictions If your card gets declined on an item that used to go through, this restriction is the likely reason.