Can You Buy Pumpkins With Food Stamps in the US?

Last Updated on October 10, 2023 by Lori Pace

Halloween is filled with costumes, candy, and family fun. You might be wondering if pumpkins can be bought with food stamps if you are looking to decorate your home or carve pumpkins. But you are strap for cash, how can you purchase pumpkins during these holidays? The question here is can you buy pumpkins with food stamps?

Good news: You can purchase pumpkins at many stores that accept food stamps. You must make sure your pumpkin is edible. This means you can’t buy decorative pumpkins or plastic ones.

How to Buy Pumpkins With Food Stamps?

Although we might use the term “food stamps”, when paying with SNAP benefits, payment is made through your state’s electronic banking card. Your monthly benefits are stored on this debit card, which you can use to purchase food for yourself and your family.

SNAP rules prohibit recipients from purchasing non-food items using their EBT cards. You can only buy meat, milk, vegetables, cereals and juices. For Halloween-lovers, pumpkins can be purchased with your EBT card as an edible SNAP item.

Choosing the Right Pumpkin

Pumpkins are mistakenly thought to be vegetables. However, they are actually a fruit. Every year, thousands of pumpkins are purchased to make delicious soups, pies and cakes. Can you buy pumpkins using food stamps?

Make sure your pumpkin is edible by choosing one that is in the produce section, and not the holiday or decorative area. You can find decorative pumpkins made from manmade or natural pumpkins that have a design already on them. You can ask a cashier, or customer service agent to verify that the pumpkin has been classified as a food item.

Pumpkins are typically priced based on their weight. If you pick a pumpkin from a pile, you should keep this in mind. A larger pumpkin is better if you intend to carve it. If you intend to use your pumpkin as a decoration, however, any size will work. You should make sure that your pumpkin doesn’t crack or have any soft spots.

Buy Pumpkins With Your Food Stamps

Once you have found the perfect pumpkin, go to the checkout. Tell the cashier that you will be paying with EBT. Then swipe or insert your card in the machine. Your purchase should be confirmed after you have entered your PIN.

Use it for Food or Decoration

Do you wish to purchase decorative pumpkins? You don’t have to buy decorative pumpkins – edible pumpkins can be found on doorsteps all over the country. To make your pumpkin more special, you can carve it with your children or use school supplies such as markers. 

EBT or Food Stamps Retailers That You Can Buy Pumpkins From

You now know where to buy your Halloween pumpkin. It’s time to look for a place that sells them. Pumpkins will be available in most major supermarkets and chain stores starting in the fall.

These SNAP-accepting stores will be selling pumpkins beginning in October.

• Kroger
• Walmart
• Aldi
• Shoprite
• Food Lion
• WinCo
• Safeway
• More…

EBT Farmers Markets

SNAP collaborates with farmers’ markets to list them on the USDA website. If you are able to visit EBT-accepting farmers markets in your local area, we recommend it. You can find many pumpkins and other squash at these markets that you can use for decoration or food.

You can also buy other fruits and vegetables, such as butternut squash, honeynut squash, or fig leaf gourds, but they should be used as Halloween decorations or in a basket.

Halloween Foods and Decorations With Food Stamps

The SNAP program recognizes that Halloween is a big deal for some children, so they’ve put together a site with snacks and meals you can buy with EBT for the occasion. You can make familiar dishes with EBT products such as deviled eggs and pumpkin or apple pie or candy apples.

What to Do With Old Halloween Pumpkins

It’s possible to be nervous about buying a pumpkin that will end up rotting on your front lawn. However, pumpkins do not have to be a waste. You can use the pumpkin guts (inside a pumpkin), to make many things if you are carving your pumpkin. For delicious homemade pumpkin seeds, you can take the seeds out and roast them with some salt. You can use these seeds to make the infamous pumpkin pie.

Keeping Halloween Budget-Friendly

Holidays can be fun but it is easy to spend too much on the holiday excitement. There are many ways to enjoy Halloween without breaking your budget.

Costumes are a highlight of Halloween, especially for children. However, nowadays a basic costume can cost more than a month of outfits. Instead, you can buy a costume at a thrift store, second-hand shop, or online. You can also make your own costumes .

Planning

It’s easy to spend money when you get too carried away. It’s much easier to plan and stick to your budget. Make a list of things you don’t want to buy before you go to the store. Talk to your children before you go to the store so that they don’t try and add more items to your cart.

Checking your home first

There may be decorations and items you have around that are perfect for recycling for a new purpose. Before you go shopping for decorations, make sure you check your storage and see if there are any items you can reuse this year.

Creating a budget if you cannot buy pumpkins with food stamps

Spend only what you can afford, or you will regret it in the next month. Remember that Christmas is just around the corner.

Buying second-hand

Thrift shops sell tons of Halloween decorations and costumes starting in September. For great deals on gently used Halloween products, check out local second-hand shops or online stores such as Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.