NCDHHS: Food and Nutrition Services expands online purchasing program to 11 retailers

Posted on by Mike Fuhrman

Special to Iredell Free News
RALEIGH — The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services has announced that the Food and Nutrition Services program has expanded participation in the FNS Online Purchasing Program from seven retailers to 11. FNS recipients can access these 11 retailers online to make food purchases with their Electronic Benefit Transfer cards. Authorized retailers in North Carolina accepting FNS EBT payments online are:

♦ Aldi
♦ Amazon
♦ BJ’s Wholesale Club
♦ Carlie C’s
♦ Compare Foods of Clayton (new participant)
♦ Deep Roots Market (new participant)
♦ Earth Fare (new participant)
♦ Food Lion
♦ Piggly Wiggly of Kinston (HWY 258 N) (new participant)
♦ Publix
♦ Walmart

FNS participants can use their EBT cards to purchase eligible food items from online retailers. Any additional charges that are not food items, such as service and delivery charges, cannot be paid for with EBT benefits. The FNS participant will be required to pay for the additional charges with another form of payment, such as a debit or credit card.

Online shopping options for FNS participants provide several benefits, such as:

♦ Allowing participants to buy food while promoting social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19;
♦ Helping families overcome transportation and mobility barriers to access food benefits;
♦ Allowing participants to shop easily and efficiently from their homes; and
♦ Helping participants easily compare prices and maximize benefits

The U.S. Department of Agriculture must approve retailers who wish to participate in the FNS online purchasing program. NCDHHS encourages other EBT retailers to pursue USDA approval to become authorized online retailers. All EBT retailers in North Carolina have received information from USDA about how to become approved for online FNS purchases. More information for retailers is available on the USDA website.

In May 2020, North Carolina became one of the first 10 states to implement online purchasing for FNS.

LEARN MORE

More information about North Carolina Food and Nutrition Services can be found at www.ncdhhs.gov/FNS, and North Carolina individuals and families can apply for FNS at epass.nc.gov.