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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 28, 2026
Independent information tool. Not a government website.
After a storm caused power outages in the San Antonio area, SNAP recipients who lost food may qualify for replacement benefits. Texas HHSC staff and the San Antonio Food Bank provided assistance with applications and storm-related SNAP benefit questions in early September 2026.
Texas announced that the Your Texas Benefits website and mobile app would be unavailable on Sunday, September 20, 2026, from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. due to maintenance. The notice directed SNAP, Medicaid, CHIP, and TANF users to call 2-1-1 for help during the outage.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and HHSC announced September 11, 2026 that Texas received federal approval to extend the deadline for SNAP recipients to apply for replacement benefits for food lost or destroyed because of Tropical Storm Edouard. SNAP recipients had until September 21, 2026 to apply.
Texas HHSC received federal approval to extend the deadline for SNAP recipients to apply for replacement benefits for food lost or destroyed because of Tropical Storm Edouard. The new application deadline is September 21, 2026.
Texas’ SNAP food restriction waiver took effect April 1, 2026, restricting purchases of sweetened drinks and candy; USDA’s September 2026 waiver page continues to list Texas as approved.
Texas’ integrated Medicaid and SNAP application backlog was reported at more than 210,000 applications on September 1, 2026. Advocates said longer waits can delay food assistance and other benefits for families applying or renewing.
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.