A video clip recorded by an irate taxpayer is going viral after it shows a sign posted at a McDonald’s drive-thru announcing that the restaurant accepts EBT, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamps) as payment for certain items on the menu. The woman who recorded the footage expresses strong disbelief that U.S. taxpayer dollars are going toward the purchase of fast food, rather than supplying those in need with actual nutrition.
User Underboss on social media platform X shared the video, writing, “McDonald’s in MI now takes EBT? Ridiculous. Tax dollars should fund nutrition, not fast food. 26 counties in MI and 9 states are now enabling this waste. End the handout madness!” The woman on the video started off the clip saying, “Now I’ve been seeing this, people saying it’s like out of town and stuff, but I did not know that it was in [town name indecipherable].”
“I guess it’s at every McDonald’s. That’s crazy. McDonald’s accepting EBT,” the woman continued. “I guess that’s what it is. That is crazy. What other restaurants accept it, I wonder? I need to get me some stamps. Give me some stamps, so I can be purchasing it on EBT too. Give me some stamps. Where the stamps at? Give me some stamps, y’all.”
“And they can get a Big Arch with it, or you know what? I heard it was certain meals you could buy with it,” she concluded. According to a report from Fox News from November 2025, taxpayers are paying almost $250 million a year in SNAP benefits that are being used to purchase fast-food from restaurants like McDonald’s and others.
Not surprisingly, the vast majority of taxpayer dollars being spent are coming from just nine states, all of which are run by Democrats, according to data presented by Sen. Joni Ernst. Those nine states include Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia. The only state in the bunch that is not run by a Democrat is Virginia.
These states are part of a program called the Restaurant Meals Program (RMP), which has burned through $250 million a year on hot meals, including those purchased from fast-food restaurants. The SNAP program was first created in 1964 under the Food Stamp Act as a hand-up for folks who couldn’t afford basic foods such as meat, fruits, and vegetables.
Hot meals ready for consumption were not eligible for purchase under the program, as the main purpose behind it was to provide individuals and families with food that could be prepared at home. But then, in 1977, a loophole allowed states to opt into the RMP, which was created to allow homeless people who did not have a kitchen to buy prepared meals using SNAP benefits.
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Over time, the eligibility of the program expanded to include the disabled, along with the elderly and their spouses. “Nine states are opted into the program, which requires participating restaurants to sign an agreement with the state that is then authorized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the SNAP program writ large. Restaurants that participate in the program were historically a small group but have since expanded, most notably in California in the Biden era, Ernst’s office said,” Fox reported.
One disgruntled taxpayer on X responded to the news of McDonald’s accepting EBT summed it up best. “Driving by McDonald’s in Calif yesterday with big signs saying we accept EBT so how is that working out. I never eat out because it’s too expensive I cooked from scratch whether I want to or not and yet they get to go to McDonald’s and other fast food establishments on our dime,” the commenter wrote.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video