Seattle residents can now use food stamps to buy groceries on Amazon

Amazon says that Seattle-area residents who use food stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) will now be able to buy groceries on Amazon.com starting Jan. 29.

People will be able to buy groceries from Amazon Grocery, Prime Pantry and Amazon Fresh, according to KIRO 7.

The program will expand to the rest of Washington within the next month.

Shoppers will only be able to buy SNAP-eligible items with their SNAP EBT funds, according to Amazon’s website. People won’t be able to use SNAP EBT funds for shipping, but could qualify for free shipping by spending the minimum amount on their orders.

Amazon and Walmart launched a two-year program in April 2019, allowing shoppers using SNAP to use their benefits to buy groceries online, The Associated Press reported.

ShopRite and Amazon serviced shoppers in New York City, while Walmart serviced SNAP users in upstate New York, according to The AP. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the program would expand to the rest of New York, Alabama, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington.

The USDA said 39.7 million people participated in SNAP on average each month in 2018.

This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 9:30 AM with the headline "Seattle residents can now use food stamps to buy groceries on Amazon."