PROVIDENCE – Rhode Islanders who collect Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will continue to access up to an additional $25 a month for fruits and vegetables as the R.I. Senate voted to renew the state’s Eat Well, Be Well Rewards Program.
Created to help combat food insecurity – which the Rhode Island Community Food Bank reports impacts 34% of Rhode Island households – the program adds 50 cents to SNAP beneficiaries electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, cards for every SNAP dollar they spend on eligible fruits and vegetables.
The Most Undervalued Asset in Business: The Right Connection
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Private Office Advisor Engel & Volkers Oceanside www.DiSpiritoteam.com…
Learn More
Implemented in 2024, the Eat Well, Be Well program was the first statewide initiative of its kind in the country, according to a June 3 press release from the state’s General Assembly.
“Food insecurity is a critical issue in the United States and in Rhode Island, where hundreds of thousands of our residents don’t always have enough to eat or know where their next meal is coming from,” said Senate President Valarie J. Lawson in the department’s announcement.
Eat Well, Be Well was created based on 2022 legislation sponsored by Lawson and then-Rep. Jean Philippe Barros.
The program was set to expire in June when the House budget, approved on May 29, set aside $4.1 million for the R.I. Department of Human Services to finance the renewal.
Since its inception, the Eat Well, Be Well program has afforded 140,000 Ocean State residents a total of $10 million in additional SNAP benefits.
“This program provides an essential boost to families’ grocery budgets at a time where federal cuts threaten to make food insecurity even more common,” Lawson said in the announcement.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a PBN staff writer. She can be reached at Kannermascolo@PBN.com.
