Open Forum

Hi Kera,

For us (a small history museum), if a visitor shows their SNAP card to receive admission as part of the Museums for All program, we don't question it or seek to validate but accept that if they are showing the card the program applies.

We don't have a cafe.

Hi Kera,

I'm currently between jobs, and have SNAP benefits (and am also living in CA). Every place I've visited thus far has not done further verification beyond seeing my card. I know there could be bad actors, but there's also a level of trust needed in these scenarios (not to mention how often card holders feel ashamed-I can't speak for everyone, but I've heard that from other people and carry a bit of fear of judgement every time I use my card in a grocery store or show it at a museum). I don't know if cards from other states have dates on them.

I worked visitor services/ticketing early in my career, and at the time, many museum IDs also didn't have dates on them, but we let in anyone who showed one for free with a reciprocal ticket, no questions asked. I'll be curious to see how other museums handle this.

Our museum accepts SNAP, Medicaid and WIC as eligibility for Museums for All, and we have chosen not to credential our visitors who request the program. That decision started before we joined Museums for All, when we created our own access membership level. That trust was extended to try and alleviate some of the stigma that Rachel mentions about SNAP benefits. If they ask for the benefit, no proof at all is required.

At the end of the day, we feel the benefit for visitor outweighs the small chance of fraud. Interestingly, Museums for All is not our most-used access program, our local library culture pass is.

Hi Kera

My firm is a food service consultancy that has worked with more than 300 museums nationwide. We have researched SNAP EBT use in museum cafes and have concluded they cannot generally be used because SNAP is intended for in home consumption and has a prohibition on any heated foods (pizza, burgers, pasta, chicken fingers, soup, even coffee).If anyone else has concluded differently or found a way to accept SNAP we'd love to hear ab out it too.

I haven't seen this done in a museum but I am wondering if a "pay it forward" system could serve the same function of increasing a sense of belonging. 

Hi Kera

My firm is a food service consultancy that has worked with more than 300 museums nationwide. We have researched SNAP EBT use in museum cafes and have concluded they cannot generally be used because SNAP is intended for in home consumption and has a prohibition on any heated foods (pizza, burgers, pasta, chicken fingers, soup, even coffee).If anyone else has concluded differently or found a way to accept SNAP we'd love to hear ab out it too.

Hi Kera

My firm is a food service consultancy that has worked with more than 300 museums nationwide. We have researched SNAP EBT use in museum cafes and have concluded they cannot generally be used because SNAP is intended for in home consumption and has a prohibition on any heated foods (pizza, burgers, pasta, chicken fingers, soup, even coffee).If anyone else has concluded differently or found a way to accept SNAP we'd love to hear ab out it too.