As Congressional Republicans in Washington gear up to cut nearly $300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Nevada families already struggling because of Joe Lombardo’s policies and the state having the highest-in-the-nation unemployment rate under him stand to suffer the most, all in the name of paving the way for more tax handouts for billionaires. 

Nearly half a million Nevadas take advantage of SNAP to put food on their tables, a number that has increased by roughly 60,000 people since Lombardo first took office. According to one report that includes data from Clark, Nye, Esmerelda and Lincoln counties, at least 341,480 Nevadans were food insecure. Food insecurity rates increased from 12% in 2022 to 14.7% in 2023. 

The increases in SNAP beneficiaries and food insecurity coincide with Nevada’s unemployment rate increasing under Lombardo, which has resulted in Nevada having the highest unemployment rate in the nation for 10 straight months. Nevadans already pay the fourth-highest total in the nation for groceries every year, a burden that is only going to be exacerbated by Trump’s cost-raising tariffs. The health and nutrition of the half million Nevadans currently on SNAP, already fighting to get by in the sluggish Lombardo-Trump economy, are in jeopardy because of these Republican cuts.

These cuts to SNAP will also compound the damage Lombardo inflicted on thousands of families across Nevada after he vetoed legislation that would have guaranteed school meals for all students across the state, a vital lifeline that could have ensured that no student in Nevada goes hungry. As a result of Lombardo’s veto, the Washoe County School District had to drain savings to help cover food costs for students, parents had to set up GoFundMe campaigns, and families have accumulated tens of thousands of dollars in school lunch debt. 

Simply put, Lombardo’s policies and economic mismanagement, combined with the reckless and cruel SNAP cuts coming from Republicans in Washington, are going to result in an untold number of families in Nevada going hungry.