One-third of Rhode Island households don't have enough food
“I wish that I could stand here today and tell you that we are close to ending hunger, but quite the opposite is true. Hunger exists, and hunger persists,” said Melissa Sobolik, CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. “And honestly, hunger has gotten worse over the last five years. In fact, according to our Status on Hunger report, one in three Rhode Island households is food insecure. That means they don’t know where their next meal is coming from.”
During last fall’s federal government shutdown, the Food Bank served a record number of people through its statewide network of 137 member agencies. While the shutdown has ended, the need remains at record levels. Food Insecurity Awareness Day, held in the Rhode Island State House Library on Tuesday, was billed as a “rallying cry of support for the thousands of Rhode Islanders who struggle to put food on their tables.”
“The data is bleak,” continued Sobolik. “In November, when
the federal government shut down and brought SNAP benefits to
a screeching halt, the urgency of this crisis was brought into clear focus.
More than 102,000 Road Islanders needed food more than ever before in the
history of the Food Bank, and each one of them, each one of us, has a story. We
have hopes and dreams. No one ever says, ‘I want to be hungry or food insecure
when I grow up.’ Yet they are. One is one too many, let alone 102,000.
“… the community’s response during the shutdown was
incredibly generous and heartwarming. First-time donors rushed to our aid,
longtime donors increased their contributions, but the bottom line is that we
cannot fundraise or run a food bank our way out of this. Hunger in Rhode Island
is too big a problem for any one organization to solve, yet hunger is solvable.
There is enough food produced in the U.S. to feed every single person - they
don’t have access to it. We need meaningful policy change and robust investment
to truly make progress toward ending hunger. That’s especially true today when
the business of food banking has been permanently transformed.
“We used to rely primarily on donated food, and now that
only makes up 29% of our inventory. Another third comes from the federal
government as commodities. And the final third is purchased, allowing us to
focus our dollars on safe, local, healthy, and culturally responsive food. That
food no sooner fills our shelves than it is distributed to those in need across
the state through our incredible network of 137 member agencies.
“We haven’t ended hunger yet, but we can. I wholeheartedly
believe that if any state can end hunger, it’s Rhode Island, but it’s going to
take every single one of us to do so.
“What can you do? You can donate food to your local food
pantry. You can donate funds to the food bank so we can leverage our purchasing
power and stretch your dollar further. You can support Governor McKee’s FY ‘27
budget that includes $2 million in funding for the Food Bank, and you can vote
on behalf of Rhode Islanders who need it the most by supporting House Bill
7259 and Senate
Bill 2237.”
Key findings of the Status
on Hunger report:
- Demand
for emergency food assistance reached historic highs in 2025, with more
than 102,000 Rhode Islanders seeking help during the fall federal
government shutdown alone, which paused SNAP benefits.
- Food
insecurity affects one in three Rhode Island households, remaining
significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels and disproportionately
impacting Hispanic/Latino and Black households.
- Federal
nutrition program disruptions directly increased reliance on the
charitable food network, forcing the Food Bank, pantries, and meal sites
to serve as the federal safety net’s safety net.
- The
charitable food system has undergone a structural shift, with purchased
food now the largest source of inventory, reflecting sustained demand and
the limits of donated supply.
- Upcoming SNAP policy changes threaten to increase hunger and further demand, shifting costs to states and reducing benefits for thousands of households beginning in 2025 and continuing into 2026.
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