Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

SNAP, formerly called food stamps, is the nation's largest program for fighting domestic hunger. Federally funded and state administered through our Department, we are committed to providing low-income individuals and families with resources to purchase food.

Eligibility and benefit amounts are based on income, expenses, resources and the number of people living in a household. Recipients get an EBT card that can be used at supermarkets, grocery/convenience stores, farmers' markets and participating online retailers. Stores interested in accepting EBT can go here. Click here for more information on becoming a retailer for the online purchasing program. 

Since March 2020, some SNAP households have received extra benefits called emergency allotments to help during the pandemic.  In April 2021, the federal government made a change to allow more SNAP households to receive these extra benefits. You can read more here.

NOTE: Extra benefits need to be approved by the federal government on a month to month basis, and DHS announces the decisions widely each month.        

An older woman with a mask adds a green pepper to her grocery shopping basket.

Customer Information

Eligibility & How to Apply

Verification Checklist and Documents You May Need

Forms (Recertification, Interim Reporting, Change, Loss of Food)

What Can I Buy with SNAP?

EBT Card 

Able-Bodied Adults without Dependents (ABAWDS)

Appeals

Overpayments

A little boy helps cook dinner with his grandparents by adding pepper to the dish.

Resources & Support

P-EBT

SNAP Employment & Training

SNAP Outreach Toolkit

Online Purchasing & Restaurant Meals Program

Research, Reports & Newsletters

RI Head Start

SNAP-Ed

Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Services

RIDE Child Nutrition Services

Rhode Island Community Food Bank

Family Violence Option Advocacy Program

Rhode Island Community Action

USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), religious creed, disability, age, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the agency (state or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (833) 620-1071, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to:

Mail:
Food and Nutrition Service, USDA
1320 Braddock Place, Room 334
Alexandria, VA 22314; or


Fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or


Email:
FNSCIVILRIGHTSCOMPLAINTS@usda.gov