Energy drinks are advertised as giving a “pick-me-up” or a required quick boost of energy. Energy drinks are well-liked and most consumed beverages as they provide an instant boost of energy.
While energy drinks may have several advantages, these advantages come at a cost as they’re not budget-friendly and can be quite expensive.
People with modest incomes only prefer to spend their earnings on needs rather than wants, which means they would think twice before buying things like energy drinks.
Nevertheless, there’s a program called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which allows you to buy energy drinks.
It’s important to be aware that not all energy drinks are EBT eligible, thus it’s necessary to know which energy drinks you can purchase with EBT.
If you want to know more about EBT and which energy drinks you can buy, keep on reading. Let’s begin!
Contents
What Is Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT)?
EBT is an electronically operated system that basically allows families with modest incomes to purchase cash assistance advantages.
It’s a program which is known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), called a food stamp program, a welfare program, or government food assistance.
You get an EBT card that you just have to swipe at any SNAP retailer store with the help of an electric system. You can only use the EBT card at SNAP retailer stores because not every store will accept the EBT cards.
You have to be a participant in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program to be able to take advantage of its services.
Moreover, EBT is operating in all 50 states, being the only system of SNAP issuance in the states since the year 2004.
The sole purpose of EBT is to deliver support to families who have been struggling in order to make the ends meet and also reduce the number of people who’re dependent on the social safety net.
Furthermore, there’re two types of benefits that EBT provides which are food and cash.
Food benefits are under the authorization of the federal government and are used to purchase food and non-alcoholic beverages. In addition, these food benefits are provided by SNAP.
Whereas cash benefits include state general assistance which is the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits and refugee benefits.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the largest federal nutrition assistance programs, it delivers benefits to people with modest incomes through an EBT card.
An EBT card is used like a debit card to buy food in retail stores that are authorized by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
All 50 states have the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program which is for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). It provides benefits via either a national coupon program or a state-run food bank.
Foods that have the SNAP or WIC stamps on their packaging are eligible to be purchased at any authorized SNAP store.
Foods that have the SNAP or WIC stamps are generally healthier as compared to those without them, like fruits and vegetables which are high in fiber and low in saturated fats.
Federal assistance programs, such as SNAP, S-NEP, SBP, NSLP, and many more are basically anti-poverty, they offer low-cost and portioned meals to more than 40 million people in America.
Furthermore, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture which provides food benefits to families in need of assistance.
Whereas the Supplemental Nutrition Education Program (S-NEP) offers nutrition and education to children in school. The School Breakfast Program (SBP) makes sure that all school children have complete access to a nutritious breakfast every day.
Watch this video to learn how the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program works.
How to Apply For SNAP?
To take advantage of the benefits provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, you need to be a participant.
It’s quite simple to apply for SNAP, you merely need to get a County Food Stamp Application and submit it.
In order to apply, you have to visit the SNAP/EBT website which will ask you several questions that you need to answer honestly as it determines if you’re eligible or not.
They have a certain type of criteria to determine if you’re eligible or not, but primarily it’s based on your income which has to be either below or below the line of poverty.
What Can You Buy With EBT?
It’s significant to know that EBT doesn’t cover all the expenses, it’s only used to purchase food as it’s the prime purpose of SNAP to not let any person starve.
Contrary to what people think, EBT can’t be used to buy cleaning or any kind of items other than food.
Foods that come with a SNAP stamp can be bought by the EBT card, these foods are available at only SNAP-authorized retail stores.
The table below summarizes the foods that can and cannot be purchased by using SNAP benefits:
| Can Be Purchased | Cannot Be Purchased |
| Bread and cereals | Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes, tobacco |
| Fruits and vegetables | Pet foods |
| Meats, fish, poultry | Vitamins and medicines |
| Dairy products | Food that will be eaten in the store |
| Seeds and plants that produce food | Hot foods |
In addition, energy drinks can also be bought with an EBT card. However, not all energy drinks are EBT eligible.
Can You Buy Energy Drinks With Food Stamps?
Energy drinks usually come with a nutrition facts label rather than supplement facts, you can only buy the energy drinks that come with a label of nutrition facts with your EBT card.
The reason you can buy energy drinks with a label of nutrition facts is that nutrition facts fall under the category of food, thus such energy drinks are EBT eligible.
Check out the list of energy drinks that can be purchased with the help of your EBT card:
- Bang Energy.
- C4 Energy.
- Monster.
- Red Bull.
- Reign.
- RockStar.
- Zevia.
Can You Buy Red Bull With EBT?
Red Bull along with several other energy drinks is EBT eligible which means a participant of SNAP can purchase it by using their EBT card.
If you don’t know already, Red Bull has been around for a while, it was introduced in 1987 in the U.S. Moreover, now it comes in a wide range, including sugar-free versions.
The regular can of Red Bull contains 80 mg of caffeine and 27 g of sugar. Red Bull is a carbonated energy drink, however, there’s a non-carbonated version is known as Krating Daeng.
Alternatives To Energy Drinks
Energy drinks have become extremely essential to people who can afford them as they provide a boost of energy that wipes away morning sleepiness and afternoon tiredness.
Energy drinks contain a huge dose of caffeine and sugar which makes them a great source of energy. Although, not every person can buy such drinks as they aren’t exactly budget-friendly.
Nonetheless, there is some EBT-eligible energy drink that I have listed above. Besides that, if you want some healthier alternatives, I got you.
- Green Tea.
- Yerba Mate.
- Ginger Root Tea.
- Herbal Tea.
- Fresh Juice.
Conclusion
- Energy drinks are consumed at a high rate, however not every person can afford them, however, some energy drinks are EBT eligible which means a person who’s a member of SNAP can purchase those energy drinks.
- EBT is an electronic system that allows a member of SNAP to purchase foods that have the SNAP stamp.
- SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, while EBT stands for Electronic Benefits Transfer.
- SNAP with the help of EBT is able to provide food to people who make only modest incomes.
- You can only use your EBT card at a SNAP-authorized retail store. Moreover, SNAP is now operated in all 50 states.
- You can’t purchase everything with your EBT card, you can only use it to purchase foods like bread, fruits, and more.
- Energy drinks that come with a nutrition facts label are EBT eligible, like Red Bull.
- The Supplemental Nutrition Education Program (S-NEP) ensures that all school children have access to a nutritious breakfast every single day.
- You can easily apply to SNAP, you just have to go to the SNAP website where it would ask some questions in order to determine if you’re eligible or not for SNAP benefits.