What can I buy with my Lone Star Card?

The Lone Star Card is used in Texas to access benefits from the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Here’s what you can purchase with it:

If you get SNAP food benefits:

  • You can buy food, seeds, or plants to grow food.

You can not use SNAP benefits to buy:

  • Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes, or tobacco
  • Vitamins and medicines
  • Hot foods
  • Any non-food items, such as paper products, pet foods, soaps, cosmetics, and supplies for the home

You can’t use SNAP benefits to pay for deposits on refundable containers.

Visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s SNAP website to learn more.

If you get TANF benefits, you can buy or pay for:

  • Food
  • Clothes
  • Rent or mortgage
  • Transportation, such as bus passes and gas
  • Phone
  • Laundry
  • Utilities, such as gas, water, electricity, sewage, and garbage
  • Furniture
  • Supplies for the house, such as toilet paper and cleaning supplies

You can not use TANF benefits to buy things such as:

  • Alcohol drinks
  • Cigarettes and other tobacco items
  • Lottery tickets, bingo, and other gambling games
  • Adult entertainment
  • Guns and ammunition
  • Illegal drugs

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