UPDATED: McKee Declares State of Emergency & Neronha Sues Over Trump’s Upcoming SNAP Halt

UPDATED: McKee Declares State of Emergency & Neronha Sues Over Trump’s Upcoming SNAP Halt

Rhode Island's top elected officials took action on Tuesday against President Donald Trump administration's upcoming suspension of supplemental benefits. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced that federal food aid will not go out on November 1 as the government shutdown continues. 

"The new notice comes after the Trump administration said it would not tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP, flowing into November," reported CBS. "That program helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries."

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On Tuesday, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee declared a State of Emergency and announced a "series of actions to support Rhode Islanders."

The move bypasses the state's budget process. McKee could have called the legislature in for a special session to address the funding issue.

In an email to GoLocal, House and Senate communications staff emailed, "Speaker Shekarchi and President Lawson, as well as many of the members of the General Assembly, are deeply concerned about the food security of vulnerable Rhode Islanders and the availability of food resources across the state.  The proposal Governor McKee outlined today to expend federal funds appears to be within the bounds of his authority. Further actions would warrant additional scrutiny.”

 

 

Rhode Island in Focus

According to McKee's office, in Rhode Island, SNAP delivers about $29 million each month in essential food assistance to approximately 145,000 residents. 

"SNAP is a crucial federal responsibility that no state can absorb. Under past shutdowns, the federal government had ensured that SNAP benefits were provided using available federal funding sources to prevent a lapse in benefits," said McKee's office.

“President Trump’s failure to act is cruel and unacceptable,” said Governor McKee. “I’m continuing to call on the President to use all available options to cover November benefits. But make no mistake, Rhode Island will not stand by and allow families to go hungry. We’re taking decisive action to protect food access wherever possible and strengthen our local food banks.”

But questions emerge about McKee's actions without legislative approval. Efforts to reach Democratic legislative leaders were unsuccessful at time of publication.

McKee was joined on Tuesday by other elected and community leaders to announce the following: 

• Emergency Payments for Families with Children: McKee is deploying up to $6 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding to provide an emergency payment to help over 20,000 eligible families with children (approximately 65,000 individuals) offset the loss of federal SNAP benefits. If the federal government continues to fail to fund SNAP, the first state payment would be deposited directly onto EBT cards as of November 1, with the second following on November 16. According to federal regulations, TANF funds can only be directed to qualifying families with children.  
• Emergency Funding to the RI Community Food Bank: McKee is directing $200,000 of Social Services Block Grant funding to enhance capacity at the RI Community Food Bank. After meeting with the Governor’s office last week, the RI Community Food Bank has already placed an initial bulk order to help ensure resources are mobilized and ready to be distributed to food pantry partners in local communities across the state.
• Statewide Call to Action: The Governor is issuing a statewide call to action for donations to support food pantries. Every donation helps purchase and distribute more meals statewide.

 

Foodbank, Nonprofit Roles
 
McKee announced that 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.

The partners have created a place for the public to donate to the effort: rifoundation.org/food.

The Governor also announced a $10,000 donation to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank from the RI AFL-CIO. Rhode Island AFL-CIO has established 10 food donation locations at union halls throughout the State.

United Way of RI said it is mobilizing its network of community, labor, and corporate partners to host food collections across the state in support of local hunger-relief programs. 

 

Resources

The Governor also announced the launch of a new online hub for SNAP updates during the shutdown. To access resources, donate, and find additional support, please visit SNAPsupport.ri.gov.

United Way of RI’s 211 help center—already available 24/7, 365 days a year, and in more than 200 languages—is expanding staff in preparation for increased call volume. United Way is also enhancing accessibility for in-person consultations at its 50 Valley Street headquarters in Providence.

The Elisha Project will deliver prepared grocery bags through trusted community organizations in Providence and Central Falls—the communities most affected by this disruption.

The Rhode Island Department of Human Services is coordinating with SNAP recipients and community organizations to keep Rhode Islanders informed.  

 

Lawsuit

On Tuesday, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced he joined a coalition of 22 other attorneys general and three governors to file a lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Secretary Brooke Rollins for "unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps more than 40 million Americans buy food."

According to Neronha, in 2024, 144,200 Rhode Island residents received SNAP benefits (13% of the state population) and the average SNAP benefit per household member per month was $199.

“When the President and his Administration blame lapsing SNAP benefits on the government shutdown, they are lying to you,” said Attorney General Neronha. “The USDA has billions in contingency funds for this express purpose – so that Americans don’t go hungry waiting for their federal government to get its act together. Forty-two million Americans rely on SNAP to feed themselves and their families, including nearly 150,000 Rhode Islanders, for whom this is potentially a life-threatening situation. So, as the President prioritizes golden ballrooms over access to food, we will continue to fight on behalf of all Americans.”

This story was updated October 29, 2025, at 6:50 AM.