Which Stores Accept WIC? Walmart, Target, Aldi and More (2026)

Quick answer: Stores that accept WIC are the ones your state WIC agency has approved, one store at a time. You pay with your eWIC card, which works like a debit card at WIC-approved grocery stores and farmers' markets.¹ Walmart and Target appear most often on the state lists we counted, while Aldi says it doesn't take WIC at all.⁴⁷ For who qualifies and what WIC covers, see our WIC guide.

Why does WIC acceptance vary by store and state?

Because each state picks its own stores. Federal rules define a WIC vendor as a business whose stores are authorized by the state agency.² A chain's name on the door doesn't mean every location signed up.

To be approved, a store has to meet the state's minimum stock rules. Those must include at least two kinds of fruit, three kinds of vegetables and one whole grain cereal, and infant formula from sources on the state's list.³ So one store may take WIC while another store of the same chain does not.

A "WIC store" can mean two things. Most people mean any grocery store that takes WIC. In some states it also means a WIC-only store, covered below.

Which grocery stores accept WIC? A chain-by-chain check

We counted chain names on three official state WIC store lists on Oct. 26, 2026: California (3,500 stores), New York (2,803) and Alabama (694).⁴⁵⁶ A zero means the chain's name did not appear on that state's list.

Store	California	New York	Alabama
Walmart	253	51	128
Target	253	61	6
Walgreens	3	229 (with Duane Reade)	0
CVS	0	131	0
Save A Lot	Not counted	29	18
Aldi	0	0	0
Costco	0	0	0
Sam's Club	0	0	0
Dollar General	0	0	0
Whole Foods	0	0	0
Trader Joe's	0	0	0

Source: PantryPath count of the California, New York and Alabama WIC vendor lists, Oct. 26, 2026.⁴⁵⁶ Counts change as stores join or leave, so treat them as a snapshot.

Regional grocers carry much of the load in each state:

California: Safeway (246), Smart & Final (235), Ralphs (182), Vons (177), Stater Bros (162), Albertsons (124), Food 4 Less (110) and WinCo (37).⁴
New York: Tops (130), Stop & Shop (91), Price Chopper and Market 32 (80), ShopRite (58), Hannaford (53) and Wegmans (50).⁵
Alabama: Piggly Wiggly (94), Winn-Dixie (62), Publix (60) and Kroger (11).⁶

Our California WIC, New York WIC and Alabama WIC pages link each state's program.

Does Target take WIC?

Yes, at many stores, but not all. Target showed up 253 times on California's list, 61 times on New York's and only 6 times on Alabama's.⁴⁵⁶

Target also gives WIC participants a perk. People on WIC can verify their status for Target's Assist discount on a Target Circle 360 membership, and the verification lasts one year.¹⁰

Can you use WIC at self-checkout at Target?

It depends on your state. Wisconsin WIC says self-checkout works for WIC only at Hy-Vee, Meijer, Metro Mart, Pick 'n Save, Target and Walmart, and that using it elsewhere can make the purchase fail.⁹ When in doubt, use a lane with a cashier.

The Target app is a different story: none of the state online-ordering pages we checked list Target (see WIC online below).

Does Walmart accept WIC?

Yes, at participating stores. Walmart's help page tells you to bring your WIC foods to the register, swipe your WIC card first and enter your PIN.⁸ Walmart was on all three state lists we checked, including 103 Supercenters and 25 Neighborhood Markets in Alabama.⁶

Your WIC card pays only for WIC-eligible foods.⁸

Can you buy WIC items online at Walmart?

Only in Washington and Massachusetts for now, according to Walmart.⁸ In those states you add your WIC card to your Walmart wallet, filter for WIC-eligible items and enter your PIN at checkout.¹¹

Massachusetts: pickup or delivery at every Walmart in the state. WIC doesn't pay delivery fees, and the delivery address must be in Massachusetts.¹¹
Washington: pickup, shipping or delivery at every Walmart in the state. You need a second payment only for delivery, shipping or non-WIC items.¹²
Timing: finish every pickup and delivery before your benefits expire.¹²

Does Aldi take WIC?

No. Aldi's payment page says it does not accept WIC benefits.⁷ Aldi explains that WIC covers name-brand formulas and it sells only its own Little Journey brand.⁷ Aldi didn't appear on any of the three state lists we counted.⁴⁵⁶

Aldi does take SNAP EBT cards, so you can use SNAP there and save WIC for another store.⁷ See our SNAP vs. WIC guide.

Do Kroger, Publix, Safeway and other grocers take WIC?

Many do, where the state has approved them.

Does Kroger take WIC?

Alabama's list has 11 Kroger stores.⁶ The Kroger name did not appear on New York's list.⁵ Check your state's list for your nearest Kroger.

Does Publix take WIC?

Publix had 60 stores on Alabama's list.⁶ In other states, check your state's list.

Do Safeway, Vons and Albertsons take WIC?

In California, yes: Safeway had 246 stores on the list, Vons 177 and Albertsons 124.⁴

Does WinCo take WIC?

California's list had 37 WinCo stores.⁴

Does Meijer accept WIC?

Yes, in at least some states. Michigan WIC partners with Meijer for online WIC orders, and Meijer lets Michigan shoppers add a WIC card to their mPerks account.¹³¹⁴ Wisconsin WIC lists Meijer among the stores where WIC works at self-checkout.⁹

Does Save A Lot accept WIC?

Some do. Save A Lot had 29 stores on New York's list and 18 on Alabama's.⁵⁶

Do Dollar General, CVS and Walgreens take WIC?

Pharmacies do in some states, but the dollar stores we checked did not show up. New York's list includes 572 pharmacy-only vendors. Across the whole list, we counted 229 Walgreens or Duane Reade stores and 131 CVS stores.⁵ In Wisconsin, WIC works at approved grocery stores, convenience stores and pharmacies.⁹

Dollar General didn't appear on the California, New York or Alabama list.⁴⁵⁶ Neither did Family Dollar on the New York or Alabama list.⁵⁶ A small store has to meet the same stock rules as a supermarket to be approved.³

Do Costco, Sam's Club, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's take WIC?

We found none of them on the three state lists.⁴⁵⁶ Sprouts wasn't on the California or Alabama list either.⁴⁶ These stores may still take SNAP EBT, which is a different program. See stores that accept EBT for those rules.

What is a WIC-only store?

A WIC-only store sells mostly WIC foods to WIC families. Federal rules call these "above-50-percent vendors": stores that get more than half of their yearly food sales from WIC.² They can't hand out prohibited incentive items to draw shoppers in.³

California's list includes dozens of Mother's Nutritional Center stores and other small "nutrition" shops of this kind.⁴ You can still shop at any approved supermarket instead.

Can you use WIC online?

Only in a few places so far. Federal rules have required WIC shoppers to complete the sale in front of a cashier, and USDA has proposed removing that barrier.¹⁵ As of Oct. 26, 2026, USDA's page still describes that rule as proposed.¹⁵

State	Store	Options
Washington	Walmart	Pickup, shipping, delivery¹²
Massachusetts	Walmart	Pickup, delivery¹¹
Michigan	Meijer	Pickup, delivery¹³

Source: state WIC agency pages, checked Oct. 26, 2026. Each WIC state agency sets its own timeline, and many online projects are still being built.¹⁶ Ask your WIC office whether online orders are coming to your state.

How do you find stores that accept WIC near you?

Use your state's tools, in this order:

Your state's WIC app. In Colorado, for example, the WICShopper app has a "Find a WIC store" option and a barcode scanner.¹⁷
Your state's store list or map. Colorado posts a map of every approved store, California and New York publish their full lists, and Alabama posts a PDF.¹⁷⁴⁵⁶
Shelf tags in the store. In Texas, a pink "WIC Approved Item" sticker marks the approved milk, cheese and juice.¹⁸
Your WIC clinic. Call if a store stops taking your card or you can't find an item.¹⁷

Approved stores don't always carry every WIC food. Our WIC food list shows what each of the seven food packages can include.²⁰

How do you pay with WIC at the store?

Tips from Colorado WIC's shopping guide:¹⁷

Tell the cashier you're using an eWIC card, and ask if you should separate WIC and non-WIC items.
Swipe your eWIC card first, then pay the rest with SNAP, cash or a card.
Coupons can still be used on WIC foods.
Four wrong PIN entries lock the card. Call the number on the back of your card or your clinic to unlock it.
Colorado benefits expire at midnight on the last day of the month and can't be replaced. Check your own state's dates.

If an approved item won't ring up, pick another approved brand or pay for it another way. WIC can't pay you back later. Keep the receipt and photograph the barcode, then report it in the app or to your clinic.¹⁷

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use my WIC card in another state?

Usually not. Your benefits work at stores your own state has approved; Colorado, for example, says its benefits work at any Colorado WIC-approved store.¹⁷ If you move, ask your old clinic for a Verification of Certification and take it to the new state's WIC office. You can't get WIC from two states for the same time period.¹⁹

Can you use WIC on Amazon, Instacart or DoorDash?

None of the official pages we checked list Amazon, Instacart or DoorDash for WIC. The online options we found were Walmart in Washington and Massachusetts and Meijer in Michigan.⁸¹³ Your state WIC office can tell you if that changes.¹⁶

Can I use WIC at a farmers' market?

Yes, at WIC-approved farmers' markets.¹ Colorado, for example, lists its WIC-approved farmers online.¹⁷

Can I return food I bought with WIC?

In Michigan, returns are not allowed for WIC items. An exchange may be allowed if the item is damaged, spoiled, wrong or recalled.¹³ Ask your state WIC office about its rule.

Do stores give discounts on WIC items?

Not WIC-only discounts. Michigan WIC says stores can't offer discounts just for WIC items, and SNAP promotions don't apply to WIC.¹³

Can I buy diapers or other non-food items with WIC?

No. Walmart notes the WIC card covers only WIC-eligible foods.⁸ For other baby needs, see our guide to free baby formula.

How we checked this

On Oct. 26, 2026, we counted chain names in the official WIC store lists for California, New York and Alabama. We checked matches by hand and dropped false hits, such as a store name that happened to contain "Aldi."⁴⁵⁶ A zero means the name didn't appear, not a promise that no store takes WIC.

We also read the federal vendor rules, USDA's WIC pages, store help pages and seven state WIC sites.²³¹⁵⁸⁷¹⁰¹⁴¹⁷¹⁹¹¹¹³¹⁸¹²⁹ We did not visit stores or test cards.

Next step: open your state's WIC app or store list before you shop, and read our WIC guide for what your benefits cover. If your benefits run short this month, find a food pantry near you.