Las Vegas food bank still plans relief events despite federal SNAP rulings

Southern Nevada’s only food bank is moving ahead with several emergency food distribution events Saturday, despite federal court rulings Friday ordering that President Donald Trump’s administration must continue funding nutritional aid amid a weekslong government shutdown.

Three Square food bank has partnered with UNLV, the College of Southern Nevada and area churches to set up food relief distribution stations in four areas across the Las Vegas Valley to help provide emergency assistance amid uncertainty about continued federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to a spokesperson.

“Three Square is encouraged that the federal government may use emergency funds to pay SNAP benefits, and we’re hopeful families will receive them soon,” Three Square President and CEO Beth Martino said. “However, right now and in the immediate future, many children, seniors, and families won’t have the grocery money they rely on each month, as it will be some time before the funds are available for use. We must act now to ensure that our neighbors are able to feed their families.”

Two federal judges ruled nearly simultaneously on Friday that the Trump administration must continue funding SNAP, the nation’s biggest food aid program, by using contingency funds during the government shutdown.

The rulings came a day before the U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to freeze payments to the program, saying it could no longer keep funding it because of the shutdown, which began Oct. 1.

The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. Word in October that it would be a Nov. 1 casualty of the shutdown sent states, food banks and SNAP recipients scrambling to figure out how to secure food. Some states said they would send their own funds to keep versions of the program going.

It wasn’t immediately clear how quickly the debit cards that beneficiaries use to buy groceries could be reloaded after the ruling. That process often takes one to two weeks.

Starting at 9 a.m., those in need of assistance are encouraged to go to the Gray Lot at UNLV’s Thomas &Mack Center, located near Tropicana Avenue and Paradise Road. Drive-thru emergency distribution sites will also be open at TCMI Church at 5101 N. Rainbow Blvd. in Las Vegas and Central Church at 1001 New Beginnings Drive in Henderson from 7 to 9 a.m. An additional distribution site will be set up at the College of Southern Nevada’s North Las Vegas campus at 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave.

Up to 1,000 local households will be served on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last, and recipients will get a 60-pound box of shelf-stable food items and fresh produce.

Additional information on other food assistance can be found here.

Ruling hailed, impact uncertain

Attorney General Aaron Ford this week joined Nevada in a Massachusetts lawsuit filed by a coalition of officials from 26 states, calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund SNAP.

“Today’s order makes clear that USDA must use contingency funds to pay for SNAP benefits,” Ford wrote in a news release Friday. “The federal government must tell the Court by Monday, November 3, whether it will utilize other funding sources beyond the SNAP contingency fund to ensure that 42 million Americans do not risk going hungry in November.”

Nevada Democratic U.S. Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto reacted to the court orders on Friday.

“The Trump Admin’s cruel attempt to withhold SNAP funding is illegal, and I’m glad to see two federal judges have agreed,” Rosen said on X. “Trump must distribute food assistance funds ASAP before tomorrow’s deadline to make sure no Nevadan goes hungry.”

Cortez Masto called on the Trump administration to follow the courts’ orders.

“Our children didn’t cause this shutdown, they shouldn’t go hungry because the President wants to use them as cruel leverage,” Cortez Masto said on X.

Nevada state lawmakers on Thursday approved $30.2 million to support food banks and fund National Guard members who were slated to logistically help at the banks’ warehouses as the state expected an influx of new food-insecure clients.

That was in addition to $8.6 million Nevada injected in recent days into two mammoth food banks in the state.

Last month, the Nevada Interim Finance Committee also approved $7.3 million to help support the state’s Women, Infants and Children program into late December.

The WIC program helps feed about 56,000 new mothers and their young family members.

After the court orders came down, Gov. Joe Lombardo touted the state’s funding, which his administration proposed.

“My administration is working around the clock to ensure Nevadans in need have access to food across the state,” he said on X. “We’ve invested nearly $40 million to make sure all Nevadans have food on their table.”

Lombardo’s office did not immediately return an inquiry seeking comment about how the court orders affect the state.

Aboard Air Force One earlier in the day, President Donald Trump said it was up to Democrats to end the government shutdown and fund the program, adding that they were hurting their Democratic constituents, who he said were the majority of recipients on SNAP.

“They’re hurting their own people,” Trump said.

“All the Democrats have to say is, ‘Let’s go.’ … All they have to do is say, ‘The government is open’ and that’s the end of it.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if the Trump administration was planning to appeal the court orders.

Citing anonymous Trump officials, Politico reported that they said the administration would not be able to release the funds before SNAP benefits expire Saturday.

“It will still take days and, in many cases, weeks to get SNAP benefits to low-income Americans, especially since the administration has not stood up a system since the shutdown began to disperse any partial funds,” Politico reported.

Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky. Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.