A family member may shop for a SNAP household when properly authorized under the program’s rules. Giving someone a card to buy eligible food for your household differs from selling benefits, trading them for cash, or letting another household treat them as its own. [1][2]
Set up authorized help
Contact the state SNAP agency about designating an authorized representative and its card procedures. Explain whether the person helps with the application, receives notices, shops, or performs several roles. A trusted helper should understand that benefits must be used for the eligible household.
Protect the PIN and review purchases. Authorization does not permit buying prohibited goods or exchanging benefits for money. The household can face consequences for misuse, so select someone reliable and revoke access promptly when the arrangement ends.
Misuse and suspected theft
Unauthorized transactions, trafficking, and a misunderstanding about a shopper’s role require different responses. Report a lost or compromised card immediately through the state’s official process, preserve transaction records, and ask about applicable replacement rules.
Do not describe a sale as “family assistance” to conceal it. If the agency alleges an intentional violation, request the written facts and applicable hearing information. Permission from the cardholder does not make a federally prohibited transaction lawful.
Example: a relative shopping for a homebound recipient
A homebound person can ask the agency how a trusted relative may purchase eligible groceries for the recipient’s household. That is different from giving the relative benefits to stock the relative’s separate home. Agreeing within the family does not change who the benefits are intended to feed.
The helper should keep receipts and return the card or safeguard the authorized access as the state requires. If the helper also lives in the household, household composition and meal-purchasing rules should be reviewed rather than assuming everyone at the address belongs to one SNAP case.
If a dispute arises over purchases, collect receipts and the state’s transaction history promptly. Change the PIN through the official process if access is no longer authorized. A household should not file a theft report describing transactions it knowingly approved; accurate reporting is essential to both a replacement claim and any later fraud investigation. The agency can explain the currently applicable procedures.
Compare authorized assistance with using someone else’s EBT card and selling SNAP benefits for cash.
Primary sources
Sources checked: October 31, 2026.