The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known by its old name, “food stamps,” is funded primarily by the federal government but run by state governments. The money ordinarily placed on Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards on the first day of every month is expected not to be available on Nov 1 due to the shutdown of the federal government.
RI Governor Daniel McKee declared a state of emergency in Executive Order 25-02, directing all components of state government to co-ordinate efforts to get food to people who need it, including prohibiting price gouging. McKee is directing immediate payment of $6 million through Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), which uses the same EBT cards as SNAP, to qualifying families with children, assisting 20,000 families comprising 65,000 individuals. He is also providing $200,000 to the RI Community Food Bank, which gives free food to those in need. The RI Foundation is disbursing $1 million, of which $200,000 goes to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank directly and $800,000 to its local non-profit partners. The RI AFL-CIO trade labor union consortium announced a donation of $10,000.
The state government created a special web page to keep the public informed during the emergency: SNAPsupport.ri.gov. United Way of RI operates its telephone help center 24×7, 365 days of the year, supporting more than 200 languages, reachable by dialing 2-1-1. United Way is also enhancing accessibility for in-person consultations at its 50 Valley Street headquarters in Providence.
The RI Community Food Bank posted a list of resources on Facebook – facebook.com/100064778588074/posts/1254541556715119 – and created a web page for those looking to help – rifoodbank.org/shutdown – through volunteering or donating. The City of Providence – providenceri.gov/food – also created a dedicated page. A searchable list of food pantries can be found at rifoodbank.org/find-food.
About 145,000 residents of RI, 13% of the population, receive $29 million from SNAP monthly, with an average benefit of $199 per month, and in almost all cases this makes the difference in rescuing them from food insecurity. According to the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, SNAP recipients in RI are in families with children 49% of the time, with elderly or disabled members 46% of the time, and in families with working members 32% of the time. Of SNAP recipients in RI, 25% have income below 50% of the poverty line, 46% have income between 51% and 100% of the poverty line, and only 29% have income above 100% of the poverty line; without SNAP, 20,000 recipients, including 6,000 children, would otherwise fall beyond food insecurity into actual poverty. SNAP usage nationally doubled from about 20 million people to over 40 million following the 2007 – 2009 Great Recession.
The federal government shutdown results from partisan political disputes that prevented Congress from passing legislation authorizing expenditures for the fiscal year that began on Oct 1, 2025. This resulted in a furlough of up to 900,000 federal employees deemed “non-essential.” About half are civilian defense employees, while many others who are deemed “essential,” such as air traffic controllers and weather forecasters, are required to continue working without pay. It is estimated that each week of shutdown causes 0.1 – 0.2 percentage points in decline of GDP growth.
This is the 11th shutdown of the modern era, and in all past shutdowns payments continued to be made for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP. Why this shutdown is halting SNAP payments is a major political controversy: the Trump administration claims they have no choice other than to halt SNAP, but 25 states, including RI, sued claiming it is illegal to do so. The case is Commonwealth of Massachusetts, et al. v. United States Department of Agriculture, 1:25-cv-13165, filed in federal district court in Massachusetts. According to the complaint:
- For decades, low-income Americans have relied on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to put food on the table.
- Across various previous federal government shutdowns, SNAP benefits have never been interrupted by a lapse in appropriations.
- Until now: earlier this month, Defendant U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) suspended SNAP benefits for November.
- Because of USDA’s actions, SNAP benefits will be delayed for the first time since the program’s inception.
- Worse still, USDA suspended SNAP benefits even though, on information and belief, it has funds available to it that are sufficient to fund all, or at least a substantial portion, of November SNAP benefits.
- Suspending SNAP benefits in these circumstances is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.
- USDA’s suspension of SNAP benefits is irreparably harming Plaintiff States — a harm that increases every day SNAP benefits are delayed.
“President Trump’s failure to act is cruel and unacceptable,” said McKee in a statement. “I’m continuing to call on the President to use all available options to cover November benefits. But make no mistake, Rhode Island will not stand by and allow families to go hungry. We’re taking decisive action to protect food access wherever possible and strengthen our local food banks.”
“When the President and his Administration blame lapsing SNAP benefits on the government shutdown, they are lying to you,” said Attorney General Peter Neronha in a statement. “The USDA has billions in contingency funds for this express purpose – so that Americans don’t go hungry waiting for their federal government to get its act together. Forty-two million Americans rely on SNAP to feed themselves and their families, including nearly 150,000 Rhode Islanders, for whom this is potentially a life-threatening situation. So, as the President prioritizes golden ballrooms over access to food, we will continue to fight on behalf of all Americans.”
Neronha’s office further said, “USDA has funded other programs with emergency funds during this shutdown, but has refused to fund SNAP, leaving millions of Americans without the assistance they need to buy food. It is clear the federal government is making a deliberate, illegal, and inhumane choice not to fund this crucial program. The lapse in benefits will have dire consequences for the health and well-being of millions across the country, who rely on the program to feed themselves and their families. This lapse will also put unnecessary strain on state and local governments and community organizations, as families increasingly rely on emergency services and local food pantries that are already struggling to fill a growing nutrition gap.”
The governor’s office also collected statements from government and community leaders contributing to emergency relief efforts, including Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos; Bob DaSilva, mayor of East Providence and president of the RI League of Cities and Towns; David N. Cicilline, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation; Patrick Crowley, president of the RI AFL-CIO; Melissa Cherney, RI Community Food Bank CEO; Cortney Nicolato, president and CEO, United Way of RI; and Kimberly Merolla-Brito, director of the RI Department of Human Services.
I love that our state is helping and putting efforts in place to help. When it comes to food I do not think it is right to keep it from people nor children. This has no words and is horrible to even see it happening. Thank you again for everyone helping. No one should go without food ever.
I feel this is great! Question – How does this help people who rely on grocery delivery services? I, personally, cannot travel. I am disabled and an agoraphobic.