Unpacking Food Insecurity: An Overview of Nevada’s Policy Landscape and Opportunities to Improve Through Policy

In 2023, 15.1 percent of Nevadans, or nearly half a million residents, faced food insecurity. Of that 15.1 percent, 38 percent are above the threshold for SNAP assistance, falling into a “missing middle,” or a population that cannot afford the cost of groceries but does not qualify for government support. At the county-level, rates of food insecurity are particularly severe in remote counties such as Esmeralda, Nye, and Mineral Counties, where food insecurity is approximately 20 percent, as well as in underserved communities such as those in Clark County, where around 15 percent of households face food insecurity (Feeding America, 2024).

This brief explores the scope and impact of food insecurity in Nevada, highlighting how food insecurity disproportionately affects children, students, seniors, communities of color, and rural counties, with consequences that extend beyond hunger to significant health and economic costs. For example:

• In 2022, Nevada’s food insecurity was linked to more than $518 million in healthcare expenses.
• Research indicates a graded relationship between household food insecurity and adverse health effects, such as elevated rates of hypertension, diabetes, and depression in adults, as well as increased developmental delays in children (Pasha et al., 2024).
• The 2023 Nevada Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that food-insecure high school students exhibited a prevalence of moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms at 41 percent, compared to 20 percent among their food-secure peers.

The brief also provides a high-level overview of Nevada’s current food security policies and programs, including federal programs such as SNAP and WIC and the state’s Food Security Strategic Plan (2023–2027). It spotlights recent legislation, community-led programs, and innovative practices from Nevada and beyond, and concludes by outlining opportunities for policy advancement, such as authorizing a statewide entity to lead plan implementation, enhancing online benefit systems, launching fruit and vegetable prescription programs, and creating a unified cross-program data dashboard.