If you rely on SNAP to help supplement the food your household consumes, there’s a new Walmart charge you need to know. For years, Walmart honored the $6.99 grocery pickup and delivery fee if you paid using an EBT card or were a participant in the Walmart+ Assist program. That waiver is eliminated.
So what’s new? Walmart has officially reinstated a $6.99 minimum basket fee on online grocery orders under $35, even for those using SNAP benefits.
Here’s how it affects you
Until recently, as an online EBT shopping SNAP recipient at Walmart, you were able to purchase grocery pickup or delivery orders under $35 and pay zero extra. That is no longer the case. Now, if your order value is not over $35, you’ll pay $6.99 out of pocket.
Walmart confirmed the alteration in an internal memo presented to Reuters:
“We are reinstating minimum purchase fees for customers with EBT cards on their Walmart account. This is the correct fee for orders under $35.”
If you’re part of Walmart+ Assist — the discounted Walmart+ membership for low-income households — the rule still applies. That $49/year plan includes perks like free pharmacy delivery and gas discounts, but the $6.99 fee returns for small grocery orders.
What’s behind this fee?
The timing isn’t by chance. Walmart, as with most big-box stores, is getting squeezed by inflation, especially foreign tariffs. While the company maintains this fee has nothing to do with tariffs, analysts believe otherwise.
Walmart has been cutting costs by closing offices, relocating staff, and putting pressure on suppliers to absorb tariff-related price hikes. Bringing back this $6.99 charge may be another sneak move to keep profits level, but one that hurts lower-income consumers disproportionately.
Walmart also brings up the example that the vast majority of stores charge extra for orders placed online. Here, it’s only pickup or delivery — not in-store shopping. Even so, for people who do not drive or have time to shop in stores, the additional fee may be too much.
Why it matters
Walmart is responsible for more than 26% of total SNAP spending nationwide, according to Numerator data. What this means is that whatever change Walmart initiates to its policy impacts not only some consumers but millions. During the last year, 94.2% of SNAP beneficiaries shopped at Walmart and spent an average of $2,531 per person.
So sure, this itty-bitty-looking $6.99 charge could easily add up, especially for families who are already clipping every coupon in sight. Tariffs or not, this much is certain: SNAP beneficiaries will now have to be more careful when shopping for Walmart groceries online.
If you’re a SNAP user shopping at Walmart, your best move now? Stick to in-store purchases or always hit that $35 mark online — otherwise, expect to pay extra.
