Making Grocery Shopping and Delivery Easier

Grocery shopping can get hard. The store is far. The bags are heavy. Your knees hurt, or you no longer drive. Bad weather can stop a trip cold.

You have more choices than the old weekly trip. You can shop in the store with a short plan. You can order ahead and pick up your bags. You can have food brought to your door. And if you get food benefits, you can use them for many online orders too.

This guide walks through each choice in plain steps. It shows what SNAP can pay for, what it cannot pay for, and where to find help that brings food to your home.

This guide is part of our Aging at Home hub. If you cook for just one or two people, start with our guide to planning simple meals for one or two people. If you want meals brought to you, see our guide to finding meal delivery and community dining programs.

Key takeaways

• A short list, made from a simple meal plan, makes each trip or order faster and cheaper.
• Most large stores offer pickup and delivery. Pickup is often the low-cost way to skip the aisles.
• SNAP benefits are food benefits for people who qualify. They are placed on an EBT card and pay for eligible foods.
• SNAP online shopping is open in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, at retailers the U.S. Department of Agriculture lists for SNAP online use.
• SNAP does not pay delivery fees or other added charges. You pay those fees in a different way.
• The Eldercare Locator and your local Area Agency on Aging can link you to home-delivered meals and other food help near you.
• Medicare and Medicaid do not pay grocery bills. Private pay and SNAP are the main ways most people pay for food.

Start with a simple plan

A good list starts before you shop. Look in your fridge, freezer, and pantry first. Note what you have and what is about to run out. Then plan a few simple meals for the week. Pick meals that share foods, so less goes to waste.

Write the list by store section. Put fruit and vegetables first, then dairy, then meat, then dry goods. A list in store order means less walking back and forth. It also helps a helper or a delivery shopper find each item fast.

Keep a running list on the fridge. Add an item as soon as you use the last of it. That one habit stops most mid-week trips.

Stick to the list as much as you can. A list keeps costs down and cuts down on foods that spoil before you eat them. Our guide to planning simple meals for one or two people shows how to build a week of meals from a short list of foods.

Know your shopping choices

You now have three main ways to get food.

First, you can shop in the store, as you always have. A cart gives you support to lean on. Many stores have motor carts, staff who can reach high shelves, and benches where you can rest.

Second, you can order ahead and pick up. You place the order by phone app or web page. Store staff shop for you and bring the bags to your car or to a pickup desk. You skip the long aisles, but you still need a ride to the store.

Third, you can order for delivery. Store staff or a delivery service shops for you and brings the bags to your door. This helps most when you cannot drive, feel ill, or the weather is bad.

Each way has a cost side. In-store shopping has no added fee. Pickup often has no fee or a small fee. Delivery adds a fee, and may add a tip. Check the full cost before you pay, not just the food cost.

How to order pickup or delivery, step by step

Online ordering feels new at first. The steps are much the same at most stores.

Ask a family member or friend to sit with you for the first order. After one or two orders, the steps feel routine.

• Make an account on the store web page or app. Add your name, address, and phone number.
• Add a way to pay. If you use SNAP, add your EBT card too, if the store takes it online.
• Pick a pickup or delivery time slot. Early slots fill fast, so order a day ahead when you can.
• Build your cart from your list. Use the search box for each item. Pick the size and count with care.
• Check for swaps. Most stores ask what to do if an item is out of stock. You can allow a swap or ask for a refund on that item.
• Review the cart. Check the food cost, the fees, and the total. Then place the order.
• Watch for a text or call. The shopper may ask about a swap or a missing item.
• Meet the pickup or delivery. Check the bags for cold foods and put them away at once.

Using SNAP and an EBT card for food

SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, through its Food and Nutrition Service, runs the program. SNAP gives food benefits to low-income families to add to their grocery budget, so they can afford the healthy food they need.

Benefits are placed on an EBT card. EBT stands for Electronic Benefit Transfer. You use the card to pay for eligible foods at stores that take SNAP.

The Food and Nutrition Service lists the foods SNAP can buy. You can buy any food for the home, such as:

SNAP cannot pay for some items. The same Food and Nutrition Service list says households cannot use SNAP benefits to buy:

A good rule is simple. If it is food for the home, SNAP most often covers it. If it is not food, or it is hot and ready to eat, SNAP does not.

• Fruits and vegetables.
• Meat, poultry, and fish.
• Dairy products.
• Breads and cereals.
• Other foods, such as snack foods and drinks with no alcohol.
• Seeds and plants that grow food for the home to eat.
• Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes, or tobacco.
• Vitamins, medicines, and supplements. If an item has a Supplement Facts label, it counts as a supplement and is not eligible.
• Live animals, except shellfish, fish taken out of water, and animals killed before pickup from the store.
• Foods that are hot at the point of sale.
• Nonfood items, such as pet food, cleaning supplies, paper goods, hygiene items, and cosmetics.

Using SNAP online

You do not have to stand in a store to use SNAP. The Food and Nutrition Service page on stores accepting SNAP online says SNAP online shopping is open in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Only eligible retailers can take SNAP online. The Food and Nutrition Service lists those retailers by state on that page.

Using your EBT card online still needs your own PIN. That PIN keeps your benefits safe, just as it does in a store.

One limit matters a lot. Only eligible food may be bought with SNAP benefits. The Food and Nutrition Service states it plainly: delivery fees and other added charges may not be paid for with SNAP benefits. The same page notes that benefits cannot be used to pay fees of any type, such as delivery, service, or convenience fees.

So plan for two forms of pay on a delivery order. Your EBT card pays for the eligible food. A bank card or other payment pays for the delivery fee, any service fee, and nonfood items. If fees are a problem, choose pickup. Pickup lets you use SNAP for the food and skip most fees.

Help that brings food to your home

Some days, even pickup is too much. Help exists for those days too.

The Eldercare Locator is a public service of the Administration for Community Living. It connects older adults and their families to services in their own towns. You can search on the Eldercare Locator site or call 1-800-677-1116 and talk with trained staff. Ask about home-delivered meals, grocery help, rides, and other local support.

Your local Area Agency on Aging is the office the Locator will most often send you to. These local offices know the meal programs, food pantries, and delivery help in your county. They can tell you what is open, who can join, and how to sign up.

One large program runs through these local offices. The Senior Nutrition Program is set up under Title III-C of the Older Americans Act. The Administration for Community Living says the program serves nearly one million meals each day across the country, through a network of about 5,000 local providers. Local program services are open to people age 60 and up, and to their spouses of any age.

The program serves meals in two ways. Congregate meals are served in group settings, such as senior centers. Home-delivered meals are brought to the homes of older adults who have a hard time getting out. The Administration for Community Living says home-delivered meals give regular wellness checks, social contact for older adults who live alone, healthy meals brought by staff or volunteers, and information and referrals to other services.

Data from the 2024 National Survey of OAA Participants, shared by the Administration for Community Living, shows why these meals matter. Among home-delivered meal participants who took part in the survey, 85 percent said they eat healthier because of the program, and 93 percent said the program helped them live on their own. The average age of those participants was 78.6 years.

Our guide to finding meal delivery and community dining programs walks through how to compare these local choices.

Make storage work for you

Delivery and pickup work best when food lasts once it gets home. Put cold foods away first. Freeze meat you will not cook in the next two days. Keep dry goods in closed jars or bins so they stay fresh and pests stay out.

Date each item you freeze. Use the oldest foods first. A short weekly check of the fridge stops waste and saves money on the next order. Our guide to organizing food storage and reducing food waste gives a simple system for shelves, fridge, and freezer.

Order smaller amounts of fresh food more often if you can. Fresh milk, bread, and fruit spoil fast. Dry and frozen foods keep well, so you can order those in larger amounts and cut down on trips.

Tips that make each trip easier

A few small habits help, in the store and at home.

• Shop at quiet times. Early weekday hours are often calm. As a tip, ask your store if it sets aside quiet or senior shopping hours, and plan around them if it does.
• Use a cart, even for a short list. It gives you balance and a place to rest your bags.
• Ask staff for help with high shelves and heavy items. Staff can also carry bags to your car at many stores.
• Sit and rest when you need to. There is no prize for speed.
• Keep a bag by the door for returns of bottles or cans, so trips stay short.
• If a helper shops for you, give them the list in store order, note brands you like, and say what swaps are fine.

Who covers what

• Medicare: Medicare does not pay grocery bills. Medicare is health coverage. It does not pay for food shopping, grocery delivery fees, or meal shopping help at home.
• Medicaid: Medicaid does not pay grocery bills either. Medicaid helps with health care costs for people with low income. Food costs are not a Medicaid benefit. Some local programs may link Medicaid members to meal support, but the grocery bill itself is not paid by Medicaid.
• SNAP: SNAP is a food benefit for people who qualify. Benefits are placed on an EBT card and pay for eligible foods, in stores and, at listed retailers, online. SNAP does not pay delivery fees or nonfood items.
• Private pay: Most people pay for groceries and any delivery fees on their own, with cash, a bank card, or a credit card. Pickup and home-delivered meal programs from local agencies can cut those costs, and some meal programs ask only for a voluntary contribution.

Sample Situation

Rosa is 78 and lives on her own. She no longer drives at night, and winter ice makes her fear a fall. Her daughter helps her set up an account with her local store. Each Sunday, Rosa plans three simple dinners and writes a short list in store order. She places a pickup order on Monday, and her neighbor picks it up on his way home from work. Rosa pays for the food with her EBT card online and pays the small pickup cost with her bank card. Once a month, she orders dry goods for delivery, so she does not have to lift heavy bags. She also calls the Eldercare Locator and learns that a local program brings a hot meal to her home twice a week. With these steps in place, Rosa shops less often, lifts less, and still eats the foods she likes.

Your next step

If shopping help at home would make daily life easier, our provider directory is a good place to look at local home care and daily help choices near you, side by side.

Sources

• https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program
• https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items
• https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/online
• https://eldercare.acl.gov/
• http://acl.gov/help
• https://acl.gov/programs/health-wellness/nutrition-services
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Elderly_Woman_in_Market_-_Belgrade_-_Serbia_(15616229359