No, Jack in the Box doesn't really accept food stamps Confusion with another program spurs inaccurate reports

KENS5 article claiming Jack in the Box accepts food stamps. KENS5 article claiming Jack in the Box accepts food stamps. Photo: Courtesy Photo: Courtesy Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close No, Jack in the Box doesn't really accept food stamps 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO -- Jack in the Box began accepting Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, in the Alamo City this month, but some inaccurate reports from local media, including KENS5, claim that the fast food chain is accepting food stamps.

"Those are incorrect," said Stephanie Goodman, a spokeswoman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, adding that purchasing prepared food with SNAP, or food stamps, is illegal under federal law.

TANF and SNAP are two completely different programs that use the same EBT Lonestar debit card, which can cause confusion, Goodman said.

"TANF, which was formerly referred to as welfare, is a much, much smaller program that provides cash assistance for families but has much more requirements," she said.

TANF, which had 73,025 recipients in Texas in April, is a program that provides assistance for needy families that can be used like cash for anything from clothing, medical care, food and oil changes via the EBT debit card. Recipients can get cash back from the card at large retailers such as H-E-B that can be used for rent or other bills.

The average payment for one or two parent recipients of TANF in April was less than $75.

TANF is accepted at many stores in San Antonio, including Hot Topic, Chick-Fil-A, Sonic and now Jack in the Box.

However, SNAP, more commonly known as food stamps, has 3,306,288 recipients in Texas, or nearly 46 times the number of Texan TANF recipients. The average monthly payment per recipient was $111.63, according to HHS.

The June 13 KENS5 article, which garnered 24,000 Facebook "likes", included the headline: "Food stamps for fast food: 48 local Jack in the Box locations accepting EBT."

The inaccurate report, which begins, "The rumors are true", spawned similar articles, including on the conservative website Breitbart, with the headline "Fast Food Chain 'Jack in the Box' accepting food stamps in San Antonio." Another article on the conspiracy website InfoWars, titled "Jack in the Box moves to accept food stamps in Central Texas" cited the inaccurate KENS5 article.

It turns out, though, the rumors are not true, and if they were, Jack in the Box would be violating federal law.

A request for comment from Jack in the Box was not immediately returned.

kparker@express-news.net

Twitter: @KoltenParker