A video showing a woman eating a boxed pizza slice before her EBT card was declined at the register has resurfaced online, drawing debate about food assistance programs and whether the incident constituted theft.
In her hand, she has a boxed pizza slice that she takes bites from repeatedly as she goes up to the cash counter and tries to pay for the food.
She said the pizza tasted great before taking out her EBT card to pay — but the card was declined. The woman then asks the cashier to give her a few more chances. But once the card kept declining every time, things got serious, so the customer decided to take one final bite of the pizza before leaving.
The video had 18,500 likes on TikTok, where several commenters suggested the woman knew her card would be declined before she began eating. Several people said that this was not the first time that the woman had done something like this. Another said, "eating the food before paying is considered stealing by law."
The video was also reposted on X recently, and there it had over 4,900 likes. Most people in the comments section said that this incident was "a very small example of why things are more expensive."
Another commenter said he lived in Manhattan and shared a personal observation. He said that even high-end restaurants in his area had now started to make people pay for the whole meal up front before they could eat, which is not something that used to happen even a few years earlier. Why? Because, as this man said, "not all - but the trend is noticeably growing."
On the other hand, another commenter asked if EBT should be paying for cooked food in the first place. And to that, somebody replied that some people actually can't get their cooked food paid for as well, especially if they are homeless and don't have access to a kitchen daily. However, many people said the woman seemed to be dressed in a way that did not make her look homeless, so they did not believe this explanation, at least.
According to Propel, standard EBT (SNAP) benefits generally do not pay for hot, ready-to-eat, cooked foods. So one cannot buy hot prepared foods like rotisserie chickens, hot pizza, hot soup, or hot coffee from a deli or counter. Even most restaurant-prepared food items are not allowed. However, what you can buy is cold or uncooked food.
Eligible cold items include chilled deli sandwiches, cold pasta salads, and pre-packaged cold chicken, provided they are not heated at the time of purchase, according to Propel. Whether the pizza slice in the video was cold could not be determined.
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the identity of the woman in the video, the specific store where the incident occurred, or the exact date of the original recording. The details above reflect the video as shared by @gadzooks2025 on TikTok and reshared on X. Information about EBT eligibility was sourced from Propel and has not been independently verified against current USDA SNAP guidelines.
