More than 44K Nevadans to lose SNAP benefits for not meeting work requirements
Nearly 45,000 Nevada food stamp recipients who haven’t confirmed mandatory work requirements were notified that they would lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits at the end of the month, according to the state.
Under new federal guidelines taking effect March 1, adults as old as 64 who are enrolled in SNAP, able to work and don’t have dependents under the age of 14 are required to spend 20 hours a week working, searching for a job or volunteering.
The Nevada Division of Social Services said Monday that it had notified 44,700 SNAP recipients that they would no longer receive benefits beginning Sunday.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 expanded the SNAP work requirements.
Veterans, young adults who’ve aged out of foster care and the homeless population will no longer have a work requirement exemption, the division of social services said.
Prior to the federal legislation, people as young as 54, or recipients with dependents under 18 years old, did not need to meet the mandatory work requirement. People under the age of 24 who’d aged out of foster care also were exempted.
New SNAP guidelines could affect up to 90,000 Nevada recipients. They are arriving amid rising food insecurity in the Las Vegas Valley. Nonprofits have expressed worry that the problem will worsen.
Nevada said that it had notified about 72,000 SNAP recipients in November that they did not meet the work requirements in advance of the March 1 change in policy.
That was the same month a funding lapse to the program due to the government shutdown temporarily paused benefits to about 500,000 Nevadans who benefit from SNAP. At the time, the program cost the federal government about $90 million a month in the state.
Currently, about 433,000 Nevada residents receive SNAP benefits, officials said. In Nye County, according to Federal Reserve Economic Data as of 2023, approximately 10,934 residents received SNAP benefits.
“The Nevada Division of Social Services has been working with various community partners to identify volunteer opportunities to help those impacted individuals,” said Kelly Cantrelle, deputy director of the Nevada Division of Social Services, in a statement. “DSS remains committed to supporting Nevadans with accessing the benefits they need while also helping them overcome barriers to employment.”
The agency asked people who would like help finding work-related activities to email welfare@dss.nv.gov, writing “ABAWD opportunities” on the subject line. More resources are available here.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
