Online Purchasing & Restaurant Meals Program

A USDA Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) approval now allows Rhode Island SNAP participants to select and pay for their groceries online using their EBT card at some websites and participating stores. It is called the Online Purchasing Program.

Also, DHS offers a program that allows homeless households and some elderly and disabled households to use their SNAP benefits to buy prepared meals at nine participating Subway restaurants. It is called the Restaurant Meals Program. 

Read more about both below.   

A footlong, healthy sandwich with spinach, tomatoes, pesto sauce and cheese.

Online Purchasing Program

Due to the need to make shopping for groceries easier during the pandemic, the federal government approved SNAP participants could purchase eligible groceries with their EBT card online.

Participating retailers are: 

Aldi

SNAP recipients can purchase groceries online at ALDI USA. Additional information about it can be found at here. 

Amazon

To learn more and register for online grocery shopping on Amazon, go to: Amazon Accepts SNAP EBT in Select States.

BJ's Wholesale Club

For more information about its pilot program in Rhode Island and others states, visit here. 

Walmart

For Walmart, anyone in RI can purchase online but there are limited stores available to pick up the groceries or to receive delivery. Those stores include:

  • North Smithfield
  • Coventry
  • Westerly
  • North Kingstown
  • Cranston
  • Warwick
  • Providence

SNAP benefits cannot be used to cover the cost of delivery at this time. To learn more about SNAP acceptance at Walmart, please visit Walmart Grocery Pickup Accepts SNAP EBT Payments.

Stop & Shop

Items eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits will be labeled accordingly. For more information, or to place a delivery or pickup order with Stop & Shop, visit www.stopandshop.com/new-customer. You can also purchase groceries with Stop & Stop through Instacart at https://www.instacart.com/stop-shop. 

Do you want to be a retailer for the online purchasing program?

If you are a retailer for the online purchasing program, find more information here. If you are a brick and mortar store interested in accepting EBT, you can find more information here.   

Restaurant Meals Program

With the Restaurant Meals Program, eligible SNAP recipients can use their SNAP benefits to buy prepared meals at nine participating Subway restaurants.

This program is available to you if your SNAP household meets one or more of the following criteria:

  • Older Adults: the participant household must have only members who are 60 or older, or an older individual and his or her spouse
  • Disabled: the participant household must have only members who are designated disabled by a government entity, or a disabled individual and his or her spouse
  • Homeless: the participant household must lack a fixed and regular nighttime residence or be living in a shelter, halfway house or a place not designed for sleeping
A flyer used to identify the establishments participating in Rhode Island's SNAP Restaurant Meals Program.

Look for participating restaurants displaying this sign. 

Participating restaurants (see list below) will have signage that states “Participating Restaurant: SNAP Restaurant Meals Program” with the “Fork & Knife” logo displayed on the door or window. You will be able to use your EBT card, which will be run through a Point of Sale device, similar to use of EBT at a grocery store.

 

Want more info about this program? 

Frequently asked questions can be found below.