Rhode Island EBT and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

HealthyRhode: one login for SNAP, RI Works and Medicaid

HealthyRhode is the shared front door for DHS programs and for health coverage. One online application can ask for SNAP, RI Works cash help and Medicaid at the same time⁶. The portal's home page lists two help lines: 1-855-697-4347 for health and human services and 1-855-840-4774 for health coverage through HealthSource RI²⁶.

After you sign up, the portal and the free HealthyRhode app let you check an application's status, read notices, update your contact details and send documents by taking a photo with your phone²⁰. You need a Customer Portal account before the app will work²⁵. DHS also sends case reminders by text message through its DHS Alerts service²⁵.

If you get stuck, the regional offices hold Technology Adoption Days every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., where staff show you how to use the portal and the app⁷. From mid-September 2026, DHS, Medicaid and HealthSource RI decision letters use a redesigned Benefit Decision Notice layout⁶.

HealthyRhode · App: iPhone, Android

The RI EBT card, PINs, freezes and skimming

SNAP and RI Works cash share one EBT card, and you keep it for as long as you get benefits⁵. Before the first use, call the RI EBT Card Customer Service Line (ebtEDGE) at 1-888-979-9939 to set a PIN. Alternate payees set theirs with DHS staff⁵. Check your balance and past purchases on ebtEDGE, the FIS cardholder site; questions about using the card go to the same phone line^5,22. If the card is only misplaced, you can put a temporary freeze on it so no purchase goes through until you unfreeze it⁵.

To replace a lost, stolen or damaged card, use ebtEDGE, call 1-888-979-9939, or turn in the EBT-10 replacement form at a DHS office. The new card is mailed, arrives active, and works with your old PIN. Your remaining balance moves to it⁵. People without a mailing address can pick it up at named shelters and service sites, among them Harrington Hall in Cranston, Crossroads in Providence, Welcome House in Wakefield, the WARM Center in Westerly and the McKinney Shelter in Newport⁵. DHS's card page also describes a limit on replacements: a warning notice with the 4th card in 12 months, and a required call to DHS before the 5th. It labels that limit "temporarily suspended due to COVID-19" and does not say when it resumes⁵.

USDA approved Rhode Island's plan to replace skimmed benefits with federal money on August 2, 2023, with an estimated start of October 1, 2023. The federal authority expired on December 20, 2024¹⁸. No DHS page checked on October 16, 2026 offers state replacement of benefits stolen after that date. DHS advises changing your PIN often by phone or on ebtEDGE, and says it never asks for your PIN¹⁹. Its tech page also links a guide to the ebtEdge mobile app, which covers PIN changes, balance, freezing the account and blocking out-of-state and internet purchases²⁵. The DHS card page, checked the same day, does not mention chip cards⁵.

• Card customer service: 1-888-979-9939
• Cardholder website: ebtEDGE
• EBT processor: FIS

Rhode Island SNAP and EBT phone numbers

Applying for SNAP with the Rhode Island DHS

1. Apply online, by mail or at a drop box. Use HealthyRhode online. Or mail the Application for Assistance to RI DHS, P.O. Box 8709, Cranston, RI 02920-8787, or leave it in a secure drop box at a DHS office⁶. SNAP outreach partners can help you fill it out⁶.
2. Answer the DHS phone call for your interview. DHS calls you for a phone interview. If it cannot reach you, it mails an appointment notice. You may also call 1-855-697-4347 first to get the interview done^8,2.
3. Send proof within 10 days. If DHS asks for documents, you have 10 days. Upload them in HealthyRhode or the app, or bring them to the Providence or Pawtucket document scanning centers or any office drop box^2,7.
4. Get a decision and your EBT card. DHS decides within 30 days, or within 7 days if your household qualifies for expedited service. Approved households get an EBT card and must call 1-888-979-9939 to set a PIN^2,5.

Walk-in offices are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Providence (125 Holden Street), Pawtucket (249 Roosevelt Avenue), Woonsocket (219 Pond Street), Wakefield (4808 Tower Hill Road) and Middletown (31 John Clarke Road)⁷. The Shepard Building in Providence and the Hazard Building in Cranston see people by appointment only⁷.

DHS changed expedited service from September 20, 2026. If DHS asked you for verification on an earlier application and you never sent it, your next application may be handled on the regular 30-day timeline instead of the 7-day one²¹. Send as much proof as you can with the application.

In some regional offices DHS has tested SNAP Connect, an on-demand interview: DHS calls within 3 business days, and if you miss the call you can call back during business hours. DHS's SNAP Connect page, which carries no year, says it started in Pawtucket and expands to Woonsocket and Warwick "as of June 9"¹⁷.

Rhode Island's two FY2027 income charts: 185% and 200%

Gross limit: as published by Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS)³. Net limit and maximum benefit: USDA FY2027 cost-of-living adjustments. All states compared.

The table shows the 185% chart DHS publishes for households without anyone 60 or older or disabled, valid October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027³. DHS prints sizes 1 to 6 and adds about $877 per extra person, so the figures for 7 and 8 are that approximation. Households with an older adult or a member with a disability use a separate 200% chart: $2,660 for one person, $3,608 for two, $4,554 for three and $5,500 for four, plus about $948 per extra person^3,4.

For FY2027 the standard utility allowance is $874 a month, the standard deduction is $217 for one to three people, and the shelter deduction cap is $769 for households with no elderly or disabled member³. Rhode Island also gives a flat $183 standard medical deduction to older or disabled members with unreimbursed medical costs over $35 and up to $218 a month³. Since November 1, 2025, a LIHEAP payment alone no longer earns the utility allowance for households without an elderly or disabled member. Those households must show a heating or cooling cost¹⁰.

Net income test. DHS's October 1, 2026 chart says most households must also meet the 100% net income test, that households with an elderly or disabled member may have higher gross income if they meet the net test, and that households of one or two may qualify on the gross test alone⁴. Under the state rule, a household that qualifies this way must pass the gross test and gets SNAP only if its benefit calculation comes out above zero. One- and two-person households still get at least the $25 minimum^9,3.

Assets. Households that qualify through a TANF-funded service, SSI, RI Works or General Public Assistance do not face an asset limit⁹. The regulation lists $3,000, or $4,500 with a member who is 60 or older or disabled, for the remaining households. The federal limit for elderly or disabled households rose to $4,750 for FY2027, and the state rule text had not caught up when checked on October 16, 2026⁹.

Deposits on the 1st of every month

Rhode Island loads SNAP onto every card on the 1st of each month, from 5:00 a.m., with no weekend or holiday delay⁹.

The state rule says benefits are issued on the 1st of each month and can be used from 5:00 a.m. that day, with no weekend or holiday delays⁹. DHS's SNAP fact sheet says the same for as long as you stay eligible⁸.

Unused benefits stay on the card for a while. Under the state rule, each month's benefits are removed once the account has gone 9 months with no use, and DHS sends a notice 30 days before. SUN Bucks summer benefits are removed 122 days after they are issued if not used⁹.

Interim reports, 12-month renewals and the 3-year ESAP

Most Rhode Island households are certified for 12 months and are Simplified Reporters⁹. In the 5th month DHS mails an Interim Report Form. It is due by the 5th day of the 6th month, with proof. If you miss it, DHS sends a warning and you have 10 days. Otherwise the case closes at the end of the 6th month⁹.

Under the Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP), households where every member is elderly or disabled and no one has earnings are certified for 3 years. They skip the interim report and have no renewal interview unless one is needed. DHS places qualifying households in ESAP automatically^16,9. Migrant and seasonal farmworker households are certified for 24 months⁹.

Rules specific to Rhode Island

Work rules: the time limit returned in 2026 and no waived areas

DHS started the new federal rules for able-bodied adults without dependents on March 1, 2026. They apply from age 18 through 64 to people with no child under 14 in the home, who must work or train 80 hours a month or are limited to 3 months of SNAP in 3 years^10,11. DHS warned that people aged 55 to 64, parents whose youngest child is 14 to 18, homeless people, veterans and former foster youth under 24 are now most likely to be affected¹⁰. On USDA's list for October 1, 2026, Rhode Island has no waived areas¹². Exemption request forms are on DHS's work rules page, and SNAP Employment and Training is run through risnapet.org¹¹.

Eat Well, Be Well: 50 cents back on fruits and vegetables

In this DHS pilot, SNAP shoppers earn $0.50 for every $1 spent on qualifying fruits and vegetables, up to $25 a month. It works in store only, at every Stop & Shop and Walmart in Rhode Island. Enrollment is automatic, and rewards show on receipts, the app and the portal¹⁵.

Restaurant meals at participating Subway shops

Rhode Island's Restaurant Meals Program lets households where everyone is 60 or older or disabled, and homeless people, buy hot meals with SNAP at nine participating Subway restaurants¹³.

SUN Bucks 2026: $120 per child

Rhode Island's Summer EBT, called SUN Bucks, offers a one-time $120 per child, with issuance set to begin on or around June 15, 2026¹⁴. Children aged 6 to 18 on SNAP, RI Works or Medicaid at or below 185% of poverty are enrolled automatically, as are students approved for free or reduced-price school meals¹⁴. Families who already have a SUN Bucks card get the money on the same card. For a lost card, call 1-888-979-9939¹⁴.

No soda or candy restriction

Rhode Island has no food restriction waiver. DHS's list of eligible items still includes soft drinks, candy, cookies and ice cream, and energy drinks with a nutrition facts label²³. Online, SNAP works at Aldi, Amazon, BJ's, Walmart and Stop & Shop¹³.

Fewer noncitizens qualify since February 2026

On February 17, 2026, DHS posted the federal change: eligible noncitizens are lawful permanent residents with 5 years of status (with exceptions), Cuban and Haitian entrants, and citizens of the Compact of Free Association nations. Refugee or asylee status alone no longer qualifies a person. DHS expected the effects from February 1, 2026¹⁰.

Other assistance in Rhode Island

Sources

1. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
2. SNAP Eligibility and How to Apply, Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
3. SNAP Annual Cost of Living Adjustment Effective October 1, 2026 (PDF), Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
4. SNAP Monthly Income Guidelines, October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027 (PDF), Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
5. EBT Card, Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
6. Apply Now, Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
7. DHS Offices, Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
8. SNAP General fact sheet (PDF, February 2024), Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
9. 218-RICR-20-00-1, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Rhode Island Department of State, Code of Regulations. Checked 16 October 2026.
10. SNAP Updates, Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
11. Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs), Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
12. Status of State ABAWD Time Limit Waivers, Fiscal Year 2027, 1st Quarter (PDF), USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
13. SNAP Online Purchasing and Restaurant Meals Program, Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
14. SUN Bucks, Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
15. Eat Well, Be Well, Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
16. Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP), Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
17. SNAP Connect, Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
18. Replacing Stolen SNAP Benefits: State Plan Approvals, USDA Food and Nutrition Administration. Checked 16 October 2026.
19. Update Regarding Recent EBT Fraud Activity (press release, February 27, 2023), Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
20. HealthyRhode Portal and Mobile App, State of Rhode Island, Stay Covered RI. Checked 16 October 2026.
21. Important Changes to SNAP Expedited Processing (PDF, September 2026), Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
22. ebtEDGE cardholder portal, FIS (Fidelity National Information Services). Checked 16 October 2026.
23. What Can I Buy with SNAP, Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
24. Contact Us, Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
25. Tech Resources, Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Checked 16 October 2026.
26. HealthyRhode (portal home page), State of Rhode Island, DHS and HealthSource RI. Checked 16 October 2026.