Emergency allotments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are about to end, and regular payments may also shrink for some of the hundreds of thousands of Nevadans who depend on these.
The Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services previously indicated March will be the last month the extra food dollars will be provided. The emergency funding was established to help struggling families and individuals during the pandemic.
SNAP beneficiaries were getting two monthly payments, with the second one totaling from $95 to several hundred dollars.
According to reporting on The Hill website “households that also receive Social Security payments may see their SNAP benefits shrink even more than $95. That’s because as the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2023 kicks in, it increases those households’ incomes, and may reduce the amount of SNAP help they’re eligible for.”
Former Gov. Steve Sisolak had signed a proclamation allowing these payments to continue even after Nevada’s public health emergency order ended, but like for all other states who issued a similar measure the extension is now expiring.
Officials from the Food Bank of Northern Nevada are among those worried about local food banks already stretched thin, with persistent inflation and rising grocery prices causing havoc on local budgets.
Across the country, more than 40 million Americans use SNAP benefits.