Michigan EBT Card Balance

Your EBT card works like a debit card at any USDA-authorized retailer nationwide — major grocery chains and big-box stores such as Walmart, Target, Kroger, Costco, Sam's Club, Aldi, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and most local and regional supermarkets, plus many convenience stores and farmers markets. A growing number of retailers, including Walmart.com, Amazon, DoorDash, and Uber Eats, also accept SNAP EBT for online grocery orders in many areas, though delivery and service fees usually can't be paid with benefits.

SNAP benefits cover food and food-producing seeds or plants, but not hot prepared foods, alcohol, tobacco, or non-food items — some states also restrict specific items like soda or candy, noted below if it applies to Michigan.

Michigan operates a SNAP Restaurant Meals Program. Eligible elderly, disabled, or homeless SNAP participants (and their spouses) can use their EBT card to buy prepared meals at participating restaurants statewide.

Source: USDA Food and Nutrition Administration — Restaurant Meals Program

Federal SNAP rules normally cap gross household income at 130% of the federal poverty level, but Michigan uses the Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) option to raise that limit to 200% of the federal poverty level.

This lets many more Michigan households, including working families with income above the standard federal cutoff, qualify for Food Assistance Program benefits. BBCE also generally removes a separate asset test, so modest savings or a car typically won't disqualify an otherwise eligible household.