If you’re looking for a quick way to get dinner on the table while also stretching a dollar as far as it can go, there might be some lesser-known options available when it comes to prepared food.
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At Walmart, for example, a hot rotisserie chicken ready to plunk down on the table at supper will run you about $6, as one customer has shared via TikTok.
However, on a different shelf in the same store, that rotisserie chicken might be a few dollars cheaper. The catch? It’s kept in a chiller.
In a video that has drawn over 83,000 views on TikTok, user @han.fran shows the price differential for the same rotisserie chickens being offered at different price points on shelves at her local Walmart.
“Did you know that a hot rotisserie chicken from Walmart is $6, BUT a chilled rotisserie chicken is only $4,” an on-screen caption reads.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @han.fran via email, and to Walmart via contact form regarding the video.
Why is the chilled chicken cheaper?
While it is not explicitly stated why a chilled chicken would be cheaper than a heated one on the Walmart website, both are offered for grocery pickup at different price points, about $2 less for the chilled one.
Notably, on the Walmart website, the chilled rotisserie chicken is labeled as EBT eligible, while the hot rotisserie chicken is not.
This is likely because the electronic system used to manage Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, known as EBT or an EBT card, cannot be used to purchase hot food.
This may be the retailer’s workaround for offering a similar product that just needs to be reheated to low-income customers.
Why can’t EBT be used for hot food?
The policy guiding what can and cannot be EBT eligible states that SNAP benefits are intended to be used for foods to be consumed at home.
The exclusion of hot or prepared foods from EBT benefits comes from the idea that these foods are intended to be consumed on premises, and not at home, per the policy.
@han.fran So much meat for $4😭😭😭😭 #sahm #stayathomemom #momlife #thrifty #healthyliving #motherhood #shopwithme #groceryshopping #runerrandswithme ♬ Austin Millz In Da Mood – Austin Millz
Viewers weigh in
Some commenters supplied helpful ways to reheat the chilled bird to the perfect level of crispiness, so as not to be able to tell the difference between the hot chicken and cold one once it’s on the dinner table, or even incorporate it cold into meal planning to be reheated later.
“350 in the oven for 25-30 and then broil until the skin looks crispy again,” one commenter wrote. “Better than the hot ones tbh.”
“My boyfriend and I buy the chilled ones and shred them for meal prep,” another commenter wrote. “Plus I make bone broth out of the leftovers.”
“I’ve been shredding rotisserie chickens as a part of meal prep (veggie & chicken power bowls) the past couple of months,” a commenter wrote. “Turns out way better than if I cook the chicken myself, and so much easier!”
Others were quick to point out that this difference made one item qualified for EBT and WIC benefits from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“&& WIC approves the chill chicken,” one commenter wrote.
“Ebt eligible, I like to break them down and shred [the meat] for enchiladas, pastas, essentially anything that calls for shredded chicken,” another commenter wrote.
“You can’t buy a hot chicken on food stamps but you can buy a cold one,” a commenter wrote.
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