Attention RI SNAP Beneficiaries Please be aware there is currently fraudulent activity taking place in other states affecting SNAP Benefits on EBT cards. While we do not believe there is any activity of this nature currently taking place in Rhode Island, please be advised you will never be asked to sign up for instant cash benefits or be asked to provide personal information, your card number, or PIN. If you ever receive a call, email, text, or social media invitation to do so, never click any links or provide the requested information.Please know, ebtEdge will never request this type of information from you. Please remember to protect yourself by changing your PIN frequently – using a different PIN each time – or by freezing your card. If you are uncertain about or confused by a suspicious inquiry, please contact DHS and call the EBT customer service line at 1-888-979-9939 to change your PIN. You can find more information on how best to protect yourself from possible SNAP-related fraud here.
Call Center Update DHS offices will be closed July 4 in observance of the holiday. To help ensure customers have ample opportunity to connect with DHS staff the week of July 4, the Call Center will adjust its schedule to take incoming calls Monday-Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Call Center will return to its normal schedule the following week.
Summer EBT Update This summer, families with school-age children who were income-eligible for free or reduced-price meals during the 2023-2024 school year will receive SUN Bucks (formerly Summer EBT), a $120 dollar benefit per child that can be used to buy groceries. Families will either see the benefit added to their SNAP EBT card or to a separate SUN Bucks card that will be mailed this month. Benefits will be available to use beginning July 1. If you have questions about SUN bucks, please call United Way of Rhode Island at 2-1-1. Additional information about SUN buck can be found here: https://dhs.ri.gov/sun-bucks
Translation Services Available If you are seeking information about DHS programs and services in a language other than English, translation services are available to you at no cost. Persons with disabilities requiring another form of communication, such as auxiliary aids for hearing and the visually impaired, can inform DHS about their needs so appropriate accommodations can be made.
DHS to Issue P-EBT Benefits for Children under Age 6 Receiving SNAP Published on Monday, June 20, 2022 The RI Department of Human Services (DHS) has received approval to issue Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) benefits to children under age six who received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the 2021-2022 school year. Benefits will be issued to eligible children in two lump sum issuances on or about June 23, 2022, and again in July 2022. The first lump sum payment will be issued to any child under age six who received SNAP benefits during the period between September 2021 and December 2021. These children will receive a $40 retroactive payment to their household’s EBT card for each month they were eligible. A monthly amount for the second lump sum issuance has not yet been determined, but SNAP children found eligible may receive a second lump sum payment sometime in July 2022 on the same EBT card. These two lump sum benefit disbursements are for SNAP children under age 6 who did not already receive school age related P-EBT benefits. An example to illustrate the benefit issuance is available below: A household with one child under age six who received SNAP each month between September 2021 to December 2021 could receive one lump sum benefit amount totaling $160 in value. Additional benefits not yet determined may be issued in the second lump sum payment in July if the same child was eligible between January 2022 and June 2022. Households may have more than one eligible child. School age children in SNAP and Non-SNAP households began receiving P-EBT benefits in February. The plan to issue benefits to children under age six in SNAP households was approved recently by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). Families with eligible children do not have to take any action to receive these benefits. If families have a child they believe should have received the lump sum P-EBT benefits and did not, United Way’s 211 is available to answer general questions families may have about P-EBT benefits. More information about P-EBT for the 2021-2022 school year is available online here.