Interim Finance Committee approves $30.2M to bolster Nevada food banks amid SNAP disruption
October 31, 2025 | 2025 Legislature NV, Nevada
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The Interim Finance Committee approved a request Oct. 30 to allocate $30,000,000 from the IFC contingency account to statewide food distribution efforts and $200,000 to the Nevada National Guard for logistics support after the federal government shutdown threatened continuity of SNAP and other nutrition assistance programs.
The funding was proposed by Tiffany Greenemeyer, director of the Governors Finance Office, who told the committee the reallocation was possible because the State Department of Agriculture had a subaward in place with the GFO prior to Dec. 31, 2024. "We are able to reallocate these deobligated ARPA funds to agriculture because they had a current sub award with the GFO for food insecurity established prior to 12/31/2024," Greenemeyer said.
Why it matters: federal SNAP benefits were at risk of lapsing Nov. 1 unless a federal resolution passed, threatening access to groceries for hundreds of thousands of Nevadans and increasing demand on emergency food providers. The combined package — the $30,000,000 contingency allocation plus $8,600,000 in ARPA funds already redirected by the GFO — is intended to boost the operational capacity of 3 Square Food Bank (Southern Nevada), the Food Bank of Northern Nevada and their partner networks statewide.
Key details
- Allocation approved: $30,000,000 (IFC contingency account) for food distribution (GFO proposal F1) and $200,000 to support Nevada National Guard logistics (GFO proposal F2). The committee approved both items by voice vote; the chair announced the motion carried.
- ARPA reallocation: The Governors Finance Office reported $7.8 million in identified savings plus $804,000 from other deobligations, for a total of $8,600,000 reallocated to the State Department of Agriculture to distribute through the Food Bank of Northern Nevada and 3 Square Food Bank.
- Purpose and scope: GFO said the funds are intended to support distribution across all 17 counties, including rural areas, and to help food banks expand both pantry distributions and prepared-meal programs where possible.
Food bank and logistics testimony
Beth Martino, president and CEO of 3 Square Food Bank, described a recent surge in demand: "Over the last 4 months, we have seen a 16% increase already in people coming into the food pantries and programs that we work with." Martino estimated that 25–35% of SNAP recipients who did not receive benefits on Nov. 1 would likely seek pantry resources and said Southern Nevada could need an additional 3–4 million pounds of food per month to serve that population.
Shane Picheny of the Food Bank of Northern Nevada said his organization serves roughly 160,000 people per month and was preparing for a projected 25% increase (roughly 40,000 additional people) beginning Nov. 1. Both food banks told the committee they had already increased orders and begun emergency deliveries to partner agencies.
Adjutant General Daniel Waters said Nevada National Guard members would support warehouse and logistics operations, including receiving, packing and internal delivery. "The guard will not be involved in handing out the food," he said, and emphasized the Guards role as community members aiding logistics.
Legal and operational limits on SNAP-style payments
Robert Thompson, administrator for the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services, told the committee that USDA Food and Nutrition Service had advised the state it could not simply duplicate federal SNAP benefit-loading without a state general assistance program. Thompson said vendor mechanics exist to load cash-like benefits but that "they advised me that it would put our programs at risk in the future" and that the agency lacked written permission to use SNAP participant data to mimic the federal benefit mechanism.
Committee discussion and follow-up
Committee members pressed the GFO and agencies on logistics, sourcing, communications and rural access. Food banks asked for rapid disbursement and noted constraints including storage, refrigerated capacity, partner capacity and volunteer coordination. The division of social services described a communications plan (texting, social media, partner outreach and in-office messaging) to inform SNAP recipients about alternative distribution sites.
The GFO and Legislative Counsel Bureau indicated draft resolution language would allow the contingency allocation to revert to the IFC account if the federal government resumed funding before Nov. 30; if the shutdown extended past Nov. 30 the draft allowed use of the funds through June 30, 2026.
Votes at a glance
- IFC allocation F1 (contingency allocation): $30,000,000 — approved (motion carried by voice vote) — mover/second not specified in the transcript.
- IFC allocation F2 (National Guard logistics): $200,000 — approved (motion carried by voice vote) — mover/second not specified in the transcript.
Ending
Committee members and nonprofit speakers repeatedly stressed that the state-level funding is an emergency measure and not a substitute for restoring federal nutrition programs. "This is not enough to meet the need," Martino told the committee, urging that reopening federal programs remain the priority while the state manages short-term distribution capacity.
The funding was proposed by Tiffany Greenemeyer, director of the Governors Finance Office, who told the committee the reallocation was possible because the State Department of Agriculture had a subaward in place with the GFO prior to Dec. 31, 2024. "We are able to reallocate these deobligated ARPA funds to agriculture because they had a current sub award with the GFO for food insecurity established prior to 12/31/2024," Greenemeyer said.
Why it matters: federal SNAP benefits were at risk of lapsing Nov. 1 unless a federal resolution passed, threatening access to groceries for hundreds of thousands of Nevadans and increasing demand on emergency food providers. The combined package — the $30,000,000 contingency allocation plus $8,600,000 in ARPA funds already redirected by the GFO — is intended to boost the operational capacity of 3 Square Food Bank (Southern Nevada), the Food Bank of Northern Nevada and their partner networks statewide.
Key details
- Allocation approved: $30,000,000 (IFC contingency account) for food distribution (GFO proposal F1) and $200,000 to support Nevada National Guard logistics (GFO proposal F2). The committee approved both items by voice vote; the chair announced the motion carried.
- ARPA reallocation: The Governors Finance Office reported $7.8 million in identified savings plus $804,000 from other deobligations, for a total of $8,600,000 reallocated to the State Department of Agriculture to distribute through the Food Bank of Northern Nevada and 3 Square Food Bank.
- Purpose and scope: GFO said the funds are intended to support distribution across all 17 counties, including rural areas, and to help food banks expand both pantry distributions and prepared-meal programs where possible.
Food bank and logistics testimony
Beth Martino, president and CEO of 3 Square Food Bank, described a recent surge in demand: "Over the last 4 months, we have seen a 16% increase already in people coming into the food pantries and programs that we work with." Martino estimated that 25–35% of SNAP recipients who did not receive benefits on Nov. 1 would likely seek pantry resources and said Southern Nevada could need an additional 3–4 million pounds of food per month to serve that population.
Shane Picheny of the Food Bank of Northern Nevada said his organization serves roughly 160,000 people per month and was preparing for a projected 25% increase (roughly 40,000 additional people) beginning Nov. 1. Both food banks told the committee they had already increased orders and begun emergency deliveries to partner agencies.
Adjutant General Daniel Waters said Nevada National Guard members would support warehouse and logistics operations, including receiving, packing and internal delivery. "The guard will not be involved in handing out the food," he said, and emphasized the Guards role as community members aiding logistics.
Legal and operational limits on SNAP-style payments
Robert Thompson, administrator for the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services, told the committee that USDA Food and Nutrition Service had advised the state it could not simply duplicate federal SNAP benefit-loading without a state general assistance program. Thompson said vendor mechanics exist to load cash-like benefits but that "they advised me that it would put our programs at risk in the future" and that the agency lacked written permission to use SNAP participant data to mimic the federal benefit mechanism.
Committee discussion and follow-up
Committee members pressed the GFO and agencies on logistics, sourcing, communications and rural access. Food banks asked for rapid disbursement and noted constraints including storage, refrigerated capacity, partner capacity and volunteer coordination. The division of social services described a communications plan (texting, social media, partner outreach and in-office messaging) to inform SNAP recipients about alternative distribution sites.
The GFO and Legislative Counsel Bureau indicated draft resolution language would allow the contingency allocation to revert to the IFC account if the federal government resumed funding before Nov. 30; if the shutdown extended past Nov. 30 the draft allowed use of the funds through June 30, 2026.
Votes at a glance
- IFC allocation F1 (contingency allocation): $30,000,000 — approved (motion carried by voice vote) — mover/second not specified in the transcript.
- IFC allocation F2 (National Guard logistics): $200,000 — approved (motion carried by voice vote) — mover/second not specified in the transcript.
Ending
Committee members and nonprofit speakers repeatedly stressed that the state-level funding is an emergency measure and not a substitute for restoring federal nutrition programs. "This is not enough to meet the need," Martino told the committee, urging that reopening federal programs remain the priority while the state manages short-term distribution capacity.
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