(The Center Square) – Increased food stamp requirements from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are set to affect over 130,000 Nevadans.
With one in six Nevadans on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, tightened eligibility starting Jan. 31, 2026 could pose some difficult questions for the state’s most vulnerable.
“We are absolutely anticipating an increase in need,” Jocelyn Lantrip, director of marketing and communications for the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, told The Center Square. “And the problem with that is we’ve seen increases so drastically over the last few years. We’re up 76% since before the pandemic.”
“We’re helping 160,000 people a month,” Lantrip said.
The more strict SNAP requirements mean that people in need are more likely to turn to other forms of help to find their meals. Usually, the Food Bank of Northern Nevada said, the nonprofit experiences a higher turnout at the end of the month, after people use up their SNAP benefits.
SNAP qualification changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill mean that work requirements extend to adults up to 64 years old. That’s up from the previous age of 54. Rule changes set to begin next January also remove work exemptions for veterans, homeless residents, former foster youth, and parents with children 14 and older.
“ We know that more than half of the families who were on SNAP have children in the home, so it’s definitely children [who will be most affected],” said Lantrip. “We are very concerned about these cuts.”
Nearly 133,000 Nevadans could be affected by the change, according to state data.
While they would like to expand services to meet the needs of Nevadans, Lantrip said the Food Bank of Northern Nevada and other food insecurity organizations have been stretched thin since the pandemic. The food bank currently serves 160,000 people per month, already an all-time high.
“ When it affects that many people in the community and when food insecurity is so high across the state, and really the country, it is everybody’s issue,” said Lantrip. “If one in five children in Nevada are missing meals, that’s an education problem.”
“Down the road, a job readiness problem. It’s a health problem,” Lantrip told The Center Square. “We know that people need food to be healthy. It’s a problem for all of us, and unfortunately it will take all of us to make it better.”
Recently U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, made a show of protest against food insecurity benefit cuts, riding along for a Meals on Wheels delivery to seniors in need.
