Food Stamps in the game Probably Stolen can help you purchase essential supplies without paying regular shop prices, but finding genuine ones isn't always straightforward. Different customers offer them, certain starting perks change their availability, and counterfeits can turn an otherwise useful deal into wasted Credits. This guide will help you understand all of it!
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How to Get Food Stamps
Getting Food Stamps With Welfare Program
How to Identify Counterfeit Food Stamps
How to Use Food Stamps
What to Do With Fake Food Stamps
Why Food Stamps Stop Appearing
How to Get Food Stamps in Probably Stolen
You can get Food Stamps by buying them from Scav and Scavenger customers at your pawnshop, or by receiving them through the Welfare Program starting perk. In a normal playthrough, Food Stamp trading is introduced around Day 11.
The two customer types are worth distinguishing:
- Scav customers can offer multiple Food Stamps during their visits, typically beginning with smaller quantities.
- Scavenger customers can bring Food Stamps for inspection and sale after the mechanic has been introduced.
Scav and Scavenger aren't the same customer, and their visits don't always contain the items you're looking for.
When Do Food Stamps First Appear?
In a normal start, Days 11 and 12 introduce Food Stamp-related visits. Around this point, you'll also receive the identification materials needed to recognize counterfeit stamps.
These early encounters are useful because they give you a chance to understand the system before relying on occasional customer offers later.
Afterward, getting more stamps depends on additional visits, unless you have the Welfare Program perk.
Can You Increase Your Chances of Finding Food Stamps?
Scavenger's Tokens can help attract Scavenger customers when placed in your display case. Each token provides a 20% daily chance associated with a Scavenger visit.
However, attracting a Scavenger doesn't guarantee that the customer will bring Food Stamps. Their inventory can include many different items.
I'd treat the tokens as a way to encourage relevant customer visits, not as a guaranteed Food Stamp farming method.
How to Get Food Stamps With the Welfare Program Perk
The Welfare Program is the most predictable source of Food Stamps because it can provide one on Day 1 and every Monday afterward.
It costs one starting perk point and also unlocks the Commissary immediately, along with identification tools and documentation.
However, the stamp's value depends on your current wealth. Wealth includes your Credits plus one-third of the value of your goods.
| Total Wealth | Food Stamp Received |
|---|---|
| 1,200 Credits or less | 160 Credits |
| 1,201 to 1,800 | 120 Credits |
| 1,801 to 2,400 | 80 Credits |
| 2,401 to 3,000 | 40 Credits |
| Above 3,000 Credits | No Food Stamp |
This explains why Welfare Program deliveries can become smaller or disappear as your business becomes more successful.
For example, having only 900 Credits in cash doesn't necessarily qualify you for the highest reward if your stored merchandise increases your total wealth beyond 1,200.
I'd consider Welfare Program most useful for early-game supply support rather than a permanent source of free purchasing power.
You also cannot combine it with Banned from the Commissary, which disables the Food Stamp system. For more starting-build choices, see our Probably Stolen Best Perks Guide.
How to Identify Counterfeit Food Stamps in Probably Stolen
Before paying for Food Stamps, it's worth checking whether they're genuine. Counterfeits cannot be redeemed, even if they look convincing at first glance.
Use a Magnifying Glass to inspect the stamp and compare its details against the Food Stamp Identification Handbook.
Check the Printed Value and Security Seal
Genuine Food Stamps are issued in only six denominations:
- 40 Credits
- 80 Credits
- 120 Credits
- 160 Credits
- 200 Credits
- 240 Credits
If the printed amount falls outside those values, the stamp is counterfeit.
The security seal provides another important clue. Stamps worth 160 Credits or more must have a seal, while lower-value stamps should not have one.
For example, a 200-Credit stamp without the appropriate seal is suspicious. So is an 80-Credit stamp carrying a seal that shouldn't be present.
Inspect the Logo, Lettering, and Chip
Value and seal checks won't catch every counterfeit. You should also examine the other identifying features.
| Feature | What to Check |
|---|---|
| Lettering | Incorrect spelling, fonts, alignment, colors, or missing text |
| Republic Logo | Compare against the official design using the Republic Logo Checker |
| Security Seal | Must match the printed denomination |
| Chip | Must be present and undamaged |
Even a genuine-looking stamp becomes unusable if its chip is missing or damaged.
When confronting a seller, select the specific defect you've identified rather than checking every available accusation. Incorrect confrontations can affect your reputation, while a correct identification can improve the deal.
Where to Get the Food Stamp Identification Handbook
The handbook and Republic Logo Checker are normally introduced on Day 11. You can also obtain the handbook through Dr. Jackson's shop if you don't already own one and aren't banned from the Commissary.
The Welfare Program perk supplies identification materials from the beginning.
One limitation is the Illiterate perk, which prevents you from reading the handbook. In that case, the inspection tools and any reference details you already know become more important.
How to Use Food Stamps at the Commissary
Genuine Food Stamps are redeemed at the Commissary, a Republic-operated store accessible through a transit stop after closing your pawnshop for the day.
Each authentic stamp converts into Commissary Tokens equal to its printed value.
For example, redeeming an 80-Credit Food Stamp adds 80 Commissary Tokens to your available balance.
- Finish your shop day and travel to the Commissary.
- Redeem a genuine Food Stamp by double-clicking it, or use the Redeem Valid Food Stamps option.
- Use your Commissary Tokens to purchase available goods.
- Move purchased supplies into your backpack or pockets before returning home.
Unused Commissary Tokens remain available for future visits, so you don't need to spend everything immediately.
Be careful with purchased items. Goods initially appear on the ground, and only the items carried in your backpack or pockets return with you.
What Can You Buy With Food Stamps?
The Commissary sells food, drinks, water, and basic medical supplies at fixed token prices.
| Commissary Item | Token Cost |
|---|---|
| Basic Bandage | 8 |
| Nutrifruit | 12 |
| Puice | 14 |
| Pilk | 16 |
| Peat | 25 |
| Galaxy Blend | 25 |
| Sealed Water Ration (Standard) | 30 |
For perspective, one genuine 40-Credit Food Stamp provides enough tokens for three Basic Bandages and one Pilk, assuming they're in stock.
Commissary prices don't change with the regular market, although stock availability can be affected by market events. Items restock daily, with additional replenishment on Fridays.
What to Do With Counterfeit Food Stamps
If you've already purchased fake Food Stamps, relabeling them won't make them redeemable. The Commissary checks their actual authenticity rather than accepting the label you've applied.
Counterfeit stamps have very little practical value once you own them. The Sunday merchant who buys miscellaneous items may accept them, but the resale return is generally poor.
Are Wholesale Bundles With Fake Stamps Worth Buying?
Not every offer containing counterfeits is automatically a bad deal.
Some customers provide wholesale discounts when you purchase their entire selection. If a bundle contains both real and fake Food Stamps, the combined price may still be cheaper than buying only the genuine stamps separately.
For example, consider a hypothetical bundle costing 50 Credits that contains one genuine 80-Credit stamp and one counterfeit. The fake provides no spending power, but the transaction still gives you 80 usable Commissary Tokens for 50 Credits.
To judge a bundle, divide the total purchase price by the combined printed value of its genuine stamps. Ignore counterfeits when calculating the usable token total.
I'd inspect every stamp individually before accepting a wholesale offer. A discount only helps if the authentic stamps justify the money you're spending.
Why Can't You Find More Food Stamps in Probably Stolen?
If Food Stamps appeared early in your playthrough but have since become rare, there are a few things worth checking.
You Don't Have a Guaranteed Supplier
Outside of Welfare Program deliveries, Food Stamps depend on customer encounters and their available goods.
Scavenger's Tokens may help bring more Scavengers to your store, but this doesn't guarantee Food Stamps in every transaction.
Increasing shop appeal is sometimes blamed for the disappearance of poorer sellers. However, the available customer-visit information doesn't establish that higher appeal prevents Scav or Scavenger visits.
A long stretch without stamps is therefore not enough to conclude that your shop progression has permanently blocked them.
Your Welfare Payments Have Stopped
If you selected Welfare Program, check your total wealth rather than only your current Credit balance.
Once your wealth exceeds 3,000 Credits, the perk no longer provides a Food Stamp under its normal reward rules.
That doesn't mean ordinary customers can never offer them again. It only affects the perk's scheduled deliveries.
You Chose Banned From the Commissary
The Banned from the Commissary starting perk disables the Commissary and prevents Food Stamps from appearing.
If you selected this drawback, waiting for another Scavenger or trying to increase customer traffic won't restore the usual Food Stamp opportunities.
For a regular playthrough, the most practical strategy is to inspect Food Stamp offers whenever they appear, take advantage of genuine stamps sold below their printed value, and avoid relying on customer visits as a guaranteed daily income source.
