On Oct. 27, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said her department lacks the amount of money needed to cover SNAP benefits in November. Rhode Island receives $29 million for SNAP each month, in two installments, and the program helps ...

As SNAP benefits are set to lapse due to the government shutdown, leaving 140,000 people without food aid in RI, pantries are bracing for impact.

Yes, EBT cards will indeed continue to work during the government shutdown, even in November when no new SNAP funds will be issued, according to officials in Providence. The USDA confirmed this in a statement sent to all SNAP state agencies. This means that any unused SNAP money you have from October is expected to roll over into November.

On the day that federal food assistance was set to expire amid the government shutdown, demand was high at pantries in Providence and Central Falls.

A federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the Trump administration to distribute SNAP contingency money "as soon as possible."