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6/3/2026
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Senate approves President Lawson resolution funding Eat Well, Be Well program, applauds inclusion of funding in House budget
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STATE HOUSE — The Senate today voted to approve a resolution from Senate President Valarie J. Lawson to fund a program that provides Rhode Island Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients with additional benefits when they buy fruits and vegetables.
“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 President Lawson (D-Dist. 14, East Providence). “It is imperative that we do our part to address this issue and provide nutritious foods for our most vulnerable populations and the Eat Well, Be Well program does just that. By expanding the purchasing power of SNAP recipients when they purchase healthy foods, this program provides an essential boost to families’ grocery budgets at a time where federal cuts threaten to make food insecurity even more common. I want to thank my Senate colleagues, especially Senator Jonathon Acosta, for supporting this program and my colleagues in the House, especially Speaker Blazejewski, for including funding for Eat Well, Be Well in the budget approved by the House Finance Committee last week. I also want to thank all the advocates who have been involved with this program from the beginning, including the Nourish Rhode Island Coalition led by Dr. Amy Nunn, and the Department of Human Services for so ably administering this program since its inception.”
The SNAP Eat Well, Be Well Rewards Program was created by legislation sponsored by President Lawson in 2022 and launched as a pilot program in 2024. The first statewide program of its kind in the country, it provides SNAP recipients with up to $25 a month in additional benefits for purchasing eligible fruits and vegetables. With the initial funding for the pilot running out at the end of June, President Lawson and her Senate colleagues pushed to keep the program running with this resolution (2026-S 3312).
The proposed House budget (2026-H 7127A), which was approved by the House Finance Committee May 29, added $4.1 million in funding to the Department of Human Services to continue the program.
“We thank Senate President Lawson for being an incredible champion for this highly effective initiative, and House Speaker Blazejewski for his commitment to investing in proven safety net programs that help Rhode Islanders in need. At a time when the cost of healthy food continues to increase and federally funded food assistance programs remain under threat, it is critical for Rhode Island to be proactive when it comes to ensuring all Rhode Islanders can put healthy food on their tables. This proposed measure meets the moment,” said Amy Nunn, CEO of the Rhode Island Public Health Institute.
Research by the Rhode Island Public Health Institute showed that since the program launched, it has delivered $10 million in additional SNAP benefits to over 140,000 Rhode Islanders. 70% of users reported it helped them eat more fruits and vegetables, and 61% said it helped them save money in their monthly budgets, allowing them to spend more on groceries.
The most recent report on hunger from the Rhode Island Food bank found that 34% of households are food insecure, an increase of 8.8 percentage points since 2020.
Under the program, SNAP customers receive an additional 50 cents in benefits to their EBT card for every SNAP dollar spent on eligible fresh fruit and vegetable purchases. These reward incentives are applied to customers’ Electronic Benefit Transfer cards immediately after the purchase is complete and can subsequently be used to purchase any SNAP eligible item. SNAP recipients will receive this incentive automatically at the cash register after purchasing eligible fruits and vegetables.
For more information, contact:
Tristan Grau, Publicist
State House Room B20
Providence, RI 02903
401.222.4935
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