Editor’s note: This article has been translated into English.
The administration of President Donald Trump announced on Monday that it would comply with federal court rulings and release funds for the country’s largest food assistance program, which expired on Saturday amid the current government shutdown.
Two federal judges, one in Massachusetts and another in Rhode Island, issued rulings on Friday ordering the government to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) operational.
On Monday, the government informed the courts that it would release half of SNAP’s usual monthly benefits using a $4.65 trillion emergency fund approved by Congress. According to the USDA, SNAP costs more than $8 billion per month.
The program assists about 500,000 residents of Nevada, providing them with $90 million in monthly benefits. Approximately one in eight Americans—some 42 million participants, including children—depend on the program.
“The children of Nevada who depend on this program should not go hungry because Trump refuses to feed them,” warned Republican Governor Joe Lombardo. However, he cautioned against getting “too excited” by the court decisions, noting that SNAP benefit funding “does not happen overnight.”
Before Monday’s announcement, Lombardo visited the Three Square Food Bank with the organization’s chair and CEO, Beth Martino. Even in the “best-case scenario,” Martino said it could take a week or two before the funds reach beneficiaries’ EBT cards.
The process is further complicated by the ongoing government shutdown, which Reuters reports has led to furloughing about half of the USDA workforce.
Meanwhile, the Nevada Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee has allocated more than $38 million to support the state’s food banks to help mitigate food shortages while SNAP funding remains in limbo. A significant portion of that money will go to Three Square.
Lombardo also said on Monday that the Nevada National Guard is deployed for two weeks to assist with food packaging, delivery, and transportation. The state government’s investment, he asserted, would be “sufficient” to cover the month of November.
According to Martino, Three Square has seen a 16% increase in the number of people seeking food assistance over the past four months. This situation has been worsened by the government shutdown.
When SNAP funds expired on Saturday, the impact was immediately apparent. Three Square, together with UNLV, operated a distribution center near the Thomas & Mack Center, where a line of cars circled the stadium parking lot. The site served more than 1,000 people, Martino said.
Three Square and its partners also distributed food boxes on Saturday to approximately 1,000 people at the College of Southern Nevada and another 1,000 at two local churches, Martino added.
This week, the organization plans to hold 25 additional emergency distributions to supplement its regular operations.
“One of the incredible things about Nevadans is that they mobilize to help their neighbors,” Martino said. “People come to help with our food distributions, volunteer their time, stop by to drop off food donations or make financial contributions—even when some of them themselves are facing food insecurity.”
Three Square needs more “time, funds, and food” from the community, Martino emphasized. However, she stressed that philanthropy alone cannot replace what SNAP provides to Nevada.
“The only real solution,” she said, “is to reopen the government.”
Lombardo has repeatedly called on Democrats to end the government shutdown, which on Monday reached its 34th day with no end in sight.
Although the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives are controlled by Republicans, the majority party requires support from Democratic senators to reach the 60-vote threshold necessary to pass a GOP-sponsored joint resolution approved by the House to fund the government.
Most Democratic senators have steadfastly refused to vote in an effort to expand health subsidies for around 20 million Americans, who would otherwise see their Affordable Care Act insurance premiums more than double.
A handful of Democratic senators, including Nevada’s Catherine Cortez Masto, have broken ranks with their party.
This is the first time a government shutdown has led to the expiration of SNAP funds.
“Families are about to lose food assistance this Saturday, not because the country can’t afford it, but because Trump and the Republicans have decided that hunger is an acceptable price for their politics,” tweeted Representative Steven Horsford, a Nevada Democrat, last week.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who joined the federal lawsuit in Massachusetts on behalf of Nevada to compel the administration to fund SNAP, issued a statement saying the delay has caused unnecessary hardship and anxiety for Nevadans who rely on SNAP to feed their families.
He affirmed that several courts have made it clear the USDA is legally authorized to tap other funds to fully finance SNAP this month.
“My office continues to evaluate the next legal steps to protect Nevada families, but the responsibility here is clear: the USDA must use every available dollar and every tool at its disposal to ensure SNAP is funded, now and in the future,” he stated.
http://lasvegassun.com//news/2025/nov/03/lombardo-advierte-que-los-fondos-del-snap-podran-t/