UPDATED LIST: Rhode Island’s Emergency Food Program comes together. Get help here.

We will continue to update this list as the days – and the need – go by. Theses programs are offering help if you need it – donate to them if you can:

Since the announcement of the halt to the SNAP program, set for Saturday, November 1st, the state and national sources have responded with resources, comments and recommendations. The timeframe is still thought to be only a few more weeks before something will be settled. But what has become clear is the dependence on food assistance for so many in this country, and for Rhode Island. How did we get here? What are the plans to address getting people into a secure food situation?  As this becomes clearer to the average person and to political leaders, programs are stepping up all around Rhode Island. Here are just some

There is a searchable data base for that:

The RI Community Food Bank has created a searchable resource, by location, of places and programs to provide food assistance – Click on the map to go to the database.

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SNAP Messages Going Out

Here is a transcript sent to us by a senior with no dependents – he received this on his phone yesterday:

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One of the first groups to step forward is the Pawtucket Soup Kitchen, announcing their hours and welcoming everyone, no questions asked. With the looming SNAP Benefit Crisis that will impact those facing hunger insecurity, the Pawtucket Soup Kitchen wants everyone to be aware that the Pawtucket Soup Kitchen is open and ready to serve. All are welcome, no questions asked!

Their service hours are as follows:

Breakfast:    Monday – Friday                             7:15 am – 8:00 am

Brunch:         Saturday                                           10:15 am – 11:00 am

Dinner:          Monday – Friday                             4:45 pm – 5:30 pm

Meals are served at the Soup Kitchen, located at 195 Walcott Street, Basement, in Pawtucket. The facility is accessible and they are on the RIPTA Bus #76 line.

They also serve lunch at these locations:

Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket (across from the Visitor’s Center)

Monday – Friday                  11:30 am

Collyer Park, Pawtucket (located at the intersections of Main St. & Mineral Spring Avenue)

Monday – Friday                 11:45 am

About the Pawtucket Soup Kitchen:

The Pawtucket Soup Kitchen is a non-profit organization serving the homeless and low-income population. The Pawtucket Soup Kitchen is housed in the basement of St. Joseph’s Church, with entrance in the rear of the Church, near the parking lot. The Soup Kitchen serves breakfast and supper five days a week, as well as brunch on Saturday.

Through our Outreach Program we serve lunches Monday – Friday both on Roosevelt Avenue in Downtown Pawtucket and at Collyer Park in Pawtucket. We also provide: sandwiches daily to Project WEBER/Renew for their Pawtucket and Providence offices as well as for their Outreach Team, sandwiches weekly to Progreso Latino for their Food Pantry Clients, dinner daily to Sanctuary House, a sober living program for adults in Pawtucket, Breakfast lunch and dinner 7 days per week to the folks who frequent the OpenDoors Warming/Cooling Center in Pawtucket, and a hot soup or meal for the Breadline program which is served at Cathedral Square in Providence.

This was the program at Thanksgiving from 2024:

Dinner and companionship being served on Thanksgiving at the Pawtucket Soup Kitchen

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In Providence:

Providence Mayor Bret Smiley made comments about the SNAP crisis, and drew attention to how one crisis such as food can impact another, say housing, or medical insurance and services.  According to Steve Ahlquist, local journalist, Smiley said:

“We know that being unhoused and housing insecure is wrapped up in a complex set of challenges that can involve healthcare, other health issues, food insecurity, and more, so in the midst of the chaos coming out of Washington, each and any one of these things is a contributing factor,” said Mayor Smiley. “If SNAP benefits get derailed later this week, that will find its way into the housing crisis. If we have a collapse of our healthcare system because the cost of insurance triples or quadruples, or if Medicare rates get cut, we’re going to have more unhoused neighbors. So all of these things need to work together.

“If SNAP benefits are suspended or otherwise interrupted, we will work, through our emergency management agency, to activate our emergency food plan, which involves surging resources to our food banks. We’re under no illusion that going to a food bank is the same as having your EBT card filled and being able to shop for the right food that is best for your family. But Providence has a plan, and we are prepared to send additional resources to our local food banks, which, amid an emergency, is the best solution we can execute and implement in the coming week.

“There are no surplus funds in the city budget. We run a tight, balanced budget every year, so it will involve finding resources from other programs, areas of the budget that are underspent, or otherwise diverting resources from other programs. There are no easy answers to how long we can sustain that because it will come at the cost of something else. Regrettably, we’re going to have to do what everyone’s going to have to do – which is why Congress and the president should get back to work to pass the budget – we’re going to have to decide where is the harm the greatest, where is the need the greatest, and make difficult decisions that we shouldn’t and wouldn’t have to make if the president and Congress just passed the budget.”

You can follow Ahlquist on Substack, at: https://steveahlquist.substack.com/

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Emergency Food Drive in South Kingstown

MLK Center in Newport needs your contributions – Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025

Woonsocket with ELISHA Project – November 3, 2025

Veterans in Need
All RI Elks Lodges are collecting non-perishable food items for veterans impacted by the SNAP debacle. Donate at the East Providence Lodge at 60 Berkeley St or any Lodge in the state, and drop off your donations.

Operation Stand Down RI

Newport – MLK Center

Governor McKee held a press conference and announced the state’s plan:

Governor McKee and RI officials held a press conference at and with the Rhode Island Food Bank. Throughouut the event, barbs were tossed out at the Republicans saying the government has millions of money in emergency funds and this could be fully funded if they wanted to.  Aside, Republicans say all they need are 5 Democrats to agree and they could pass a bill to fully fund SNAP.  Working our way around all that, the press event outlined a plethora of resources coming together for Rhode Islanders:

Identified $6M from state emergency funds – EBT cards will be loaded for 1/2 of November SNAP payments. $3M on Nov. 1st and $3M on Nov. 15th if still needed. This is TANF money to reach 65,000 Rhode Islanders, not all of them, which would be about 143,000 total. This is for families with dependents. Must prepare for 80K to rely on food pantries, etc.

$200,000 going to RI Food Bank to support those food programs. This will be matched dollar for dollar by the Rhode Island Foundation. $1M in grants all together to nonprofits helping with SNAP crisis. RI AFLCIO will donate $10K to assist and assist with shipping. RI League of Cities and Towns helping with local communities.

Rhode Island Foundation puts up $1 million to help RI’ers facing hunger due to SNAP suspension

The Foundation encourages the public to match the funding with donations to rifoundation.org/food

As Rhode Islanders face hunger due to Washington’s suspension of SNAP benefits, the Rhode Island Foundation is earmarking $1 million in emergency grants to help feed people until the federal funding is unlocked.

The Foundation will send $200,000 to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank immediately to help ramp up the food supply to its network of more than 100 food pantries and meal sites. The remaining $800,000 will be distributed to nonprofits directly by the Foundation through its Community Partner Resilience Fund.

“Philanthropy along can’t fill the gap, but we’re asking the public to help us keep food on the tables for our neighbors throughout the state,” said David N. Cicilline, the Foundation’s president and CEO. “Our hope is that the generosity of the public and our donors will generate another $1 million to match our grant.” Contributions can be made at rifoundation.org/food.

“Make no mistake about it. This is a crisis. Hunger is always looming for many of our neighbors, but this is unprecedented. The safety net that so many Rhode Islanders depend on to feed their families is on the verge of disappearing. State government and the philanthropic sector are working to respond to this moment, and we urge the public to help us by donating to rifoundation.org/food,” said Cicilline.

The Foundation routinely provides grant support to CAP agencies, food pantries and meal sites, and anchor organizations that provide food assistance to Rhode Islanders in need. “This is what we do. We will begin making grants to nonprofit agencies that can get food into the hands of people quickly and efficiently as soon as we can,” said Cicilline.

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Best resource for government information is:  SNAPSuppport.RI.gov

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Miscellaneous:

Door Dash: Customers who have linked a SNAP or EBT card to their DoorDash profile can have their delivery and service fees waived on an order from one of the listed grocery stores. Use code SNAPDD.

Kosher Food:  Jewish Alliance at 1165 North Main Street in Providence hosts the Louis and Goldie Chester Full Plate Kosher Food Pantry, which provides kosher food and daily necessities to those in need.