Food Stamps Schedule: Texas (Lone Star Card) Benefits for December 2022 and Where To Get SNAP EBT Discounts

Texas SNAP benefits are administered by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and distributed once per month to Texas Lone Star Cards — the state’s EBT card. Benefits, including December’s food stamps, are distributed to SNAP accounts according to the same schedule each month.

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SNAP can be used to purchase most foods, as well as seeds and plants to grow food. According to the Texas HHS, SNAP cannot be used to:

• Buy tobacco

• Buy alcoholic drinks

• Buy things you can’t eat or drink

• Pay for food bills you owe

The Texas Lone Star Card can be used at major grocery stores and retailers, or at any store that has a Lone Star Card sign. If you don’t see it, ask a store employee. You can check your Lone Star Card balance and view recent card activity through your online account at YourTexasBenefits.com.

Your Texas Lone Star Card can also be used online, but it can’t be used at all stores that offer online shopping. You can check here for approved online retailers.

SNAP is for low-income households who meet program rules. According to Texas HHS, most adults between the ages of 18 and 49 with no children in the household can get SNAP for a maximum of three months in a three-year period. However, the benefit period might be longer if the person works at least 20 hours a week or is in a job or training program.

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If you live in a household where all members are either older adults (age 60 and older) or people with disabilities, you can apply for the Texas Simplified Application Project. This offers a simplified SNAP application and provides three years of benefits instead of six months.

How To Score EBT Discounts

There are additional ways to save money using your Texas Lone Star Card. Here are discounts or free services available to Texas SNAP recipients:

• Amazon Prime: Texas SNAP recipients can sign up for an Amazon Prime EBT discount. The subscription is $6.99 per month, which is about half the regular cost of a subscription.

• Farmers’ markets: According to Sustainable Food Center, P-EBT and SNAP shoppers can double their benefits at farmers’ markets or with Fresh for Less mobile markets and curbside delivery.

• Museums/zoos/aquariums: The Museums for All initiative gives Lone Star Cardholders free or discounted admission to over 600 museums, aquariums and zoos nationwide.

A fifth round of pandemic food benefits is also scheduled to go out in December for Texas families with children who temporarily lost access to federally funded summer meal programs. This round covers June through August, and P-EBT provides a one-time benefit of $391 per eligible child, which can be used the same way as SNAP.

The date you receive your Texas SNAP food benefits is based on the last digit in your Eligibility Determination Group number. Benefits are deposited onto Lone Star Cards over 15 days, beginning on the 1st of every month.

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Here is the December 2022 schedule for Texas Lone Star Card SNAP benefits:

SNAP recipients will also receive another payment in December which includes the 12.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) approved for fiscal year 2023. The COLA for 2023 began on Oct. 1, 2022 and will run through Sept. 30, 2023, which will help SNAP recipients offset rising food costs.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Food Stamps Schedule: Texas (Lone Star Card) Benefits for December 2022 and Where To Get SNAP EBT Discounts