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Texas EBT news
Reviewed Texas-specific EBT and SNAP news items about benefit timing, eligibility, and program rules.
Updated on: September 7, 2026
Independent information tool. Not a government website.
Texas’ integrated Medicaid and SNAP application backlog continued into September 2026, with more than 210,000 Medicaid applications pending and reported delays affecting families applying through the same system used for SNAP and other public benefits.
Texas received federal approval to extend the deadline for SNAP recipients to apply for replacement benefits for food lost or destroyed during July severe weather and flooding. SNAP recipients in the listed affected counties had until August 12, 2026, to apply; funds were expected to be added to Lone Star Cards within two business days after a request was received.
Texas’ USDA-approved SNAP food restriction waiver began April 1, 2026, and continues to affect EBT purchases during August and September 2026. The waiver restricts purchases of sweetened drinks and candy.
Texas flood-response guidance says SNAP recipients in impacted counties can use Lone Star Cards to buy hot foods and ready-to-eat meals, including rotisserie chicken and grocery-store deli items, through August 14, 2026. No action is required by SNAP recipients to receive this temporary purchase-rule change.
Texas announced that SNAP recipients in Bandera, Blanco, Frio, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Medina, Uvalde, and Val Verde counties have until August 3, 2026 to request replacement benefits for food lost or destroyed by flooding. Approved funds should be added to Lone Star Cards within two business days of the request.
Texas SNAP purchase restrictions began April 1, 2026 and continue to affect May and June purchases. SNAP EBT can no longer be used to buy candy or sweetened drinks; USDA materials list Texas’s implementation date as April 1, 2026.
USDA approved Texas' SNAP food restriction waiver for two years effective April 1, 2026. The waiver excludes sweetened drinks and candy from SNAP purchases under the state demonstration project.