In response to the ongoing federal government shutdown, Governor Joe Lombardo’s administration is requesting $7.3 million in emergency funding to sustain the state’s food assistance program aimed at low-income families. This initiative specifically targets the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
The WIC program is crucial as it provides nutritional food vouchers to low-income pregnant women and mothers with children under five years old. As of June 2025, more than 55,000 residents in Nevada, including 31,000 children, benefited from this program, showcasing its significant impact on local families.
However, the shutdown—which is now entering its third week—has jeopardized these services. WIC relies on annual congressional funding to properly load recipients’ benefit cards with essential credits for purchasing healthy foods. With the government halted, there are no new funds available to sustain these cards.
To address this urgent issue, Nevada’s Office of Emergency Management filed a request for funding on October 8. The proposed $7.3 million would be drawn from the state’s Disaster Relief Account, which had approximately $14.5 million available as of mid-August, according to information from the Governor’s Finance Office.
Elizabeth Ray, a spokesperson for Governor Lombardo, stated that “the funding will ensure WIC food services continue without interruption.” A memo from the Governor’s Finance Office indicated that this funding could maintain WIC support through November, with the expectation of reimbursement from federal sources once the shutdown concludes.
The initial proposal received unanimous approval from the state’s Board of Examiners, consisting of the governor, the attorney general, and the secretary of state. The request will next be considered by the Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee, which approves state expenditures when the legislature is not in session.
This push for additional state funding coincides with the announcement from the Trump administration, which recently revealed plans to allocate $300 million to WIC programs nationwide from unspent tariff revenues. Nevada is expected to receive approximately $3.1 million from this initiative, supplementing the over $57 million the state typically receives annually in federal funds for WIC.
The Nevada Department of Public and Behavioral Health previously confirmed that funding was sufficient to cover WIC benefits until October 10. However, representatives from the public health agency did not respond to requests for further comments from The Nevada Independent.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) placed the blame for the shutdown on Democrats, asserting that it will utilize tariff revenue to support WIC programs in the near term. Tariffs, which significantly increased under the Trump administration, are government-imposed taxes on imported goods.
As of now, the USDA has not indicated plans for additional funding for state WIC programs, and it remains unclear if the state-level emergency funding will be impacted by future federal allocations. It is important to note that Nevada is responsible for managing federally funded welfare programs like WIC through “prompt and judicious use of any federal grants.”
While there have been no interruptions to statewide WIC services since the start of the shutdown, the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada had to briefly suspend its WIC services on October 7. Fortunately, the council resumed operations on October 9, utilizing the newly available tariff funds to continue serving both tribal and non-tribal families through the end of October.
In contrast to WIC, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) operates under separate funding structures, ensuring that benefits for the nearly 1 in 6 Nevadans who rely on it will remain unaffected until at least the end of October.
For further insight into the ways the government shutdown is impacting vital services across Nevada, please refer to more detailed analyses available through local news outlets.
