Oh SNAP! Reduction Coming In This Food Assistance Program

Major reductions in payments to recipients of funds from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are coming in April. As of today, March 14, 2023, the Supplemental Emergency Allotments (SEA) which were made available due to the COVID-19, will no longer be issued.

According to an article written by Alyssa Bethancourt on KTNV.com, "On December 29, 2022, Congress passed and President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 that reduced benefits nationwide." I was shocked to learn from Bethancourt's article that over 400,000 people in Clark County have been receiving these secondary payments since the pandemic began back in March 2020. That is a pretty large portion of our local population.

The additional food assistance funding varied depending on a variety of factors including "household size, income, rent, and expenses," per the KTNV.com article. And now, with the high inflation we are all seeing at the grocery stores, losing a big chunk of change in a senior's income, or a needy family's income, is going to seriously affect the budget.

Bethancourt's researched examples show about a 90% reduction in food assistance payments when the SEA payments are discontinued and folks are relying on the pre-pandemic, original, SNAP dollar amounts.

If you have seen a reduction in your household income for any reason, you may want to check out all of the benefit programs the state of Nevada still offers. You can CLICK HERE to access the website and apply for assistance such as the previously mentioned SNAP, or for medical or other temporary assistance.

If you are a parent with young children who needs financial assistance, you can CLICK HERE to access the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program for Nevada.

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Larry Martino is the long-time Afternoon Drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.

With inflation hitting everyone, especially at the store, here are some money saving meals you can take advantage of at the grocery store. Now these might be money saving meals we loved as a kid, but now enjoy as adults.

According to a recent survey put out by Reddit, some might refer to these as their favorite "poverty meals". However, when it comes to saving money, we can all agree they are meals we can all like! One of the biggies on the list, but did NOT make the Top 5 is Hamburger Helper! As a kid, we loved Hamburger Helper, so it makes sense that as an adult we might think about using it to save when we can.

Another childhood favorite was a simple Cheese quesadilla. "Total cost to make one would be about 40 cents." Talk about money saving! You add a bit of chicken or beef and you have a treat! One more that might bring back some great memories, Kraft Mac & Cheese! Hey, you add some hot dogs to it and you're talking gourmet...of course, who can afford hot dogs right?

Not high on the list, but doable, it's Lasagna! Sure, why not. Make enough of it and freeze the rest, you are talking about for entire month! Again, keep in mind that everything tastes good in small doses, but if you're trying to save money, you do what you have to do!

Keep in mind that you probably couldn't eat all this day after day, but when it comes to cutting cost, every little bit helps. Just go back in time when life was easy and everything your mom made tasted great. The meals might have been pretty simple to make, but times being what they are now, may it's time to go back! So what are the Top 5 Money Saving Meals? Scroll down further to see the list...and enjoy!

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One of the money saving meals that cracked the Top 5 List was Lentil Rice Casserole. Seems easy enough to make and doesn't cost an arm and a leg to make...that's why it makea the Top 5!

Is there anything better than a grilled cheese sandwich and a warm bowl of tomato soup on a slightly chilly day in Las Vegas? Didn't think so! Cheap to make and it always tastes good...that's why it's #4 on the list!

This is probably the one meal we can all agree on. Easy to make, fun to eat and very cheap! To spice things up, go ahead and chop up some hot dogs to add to the mix...one reason why this money saving meal ends up at #3 on the list!

It seems that any "noodle" dish is going to be cheap to make and Maruchan Ramen is no different. Again, easy to make, fun to eat and you can add anything to it to spice it up a bit. All good reasons as to why it ended up #2 on the list!

Didn't we just say that anything "noodles" is going to be on the list? Well, there's a reason as to why Instant Noodles made it to #1...cheap and easy! That's why when you need to cut corners and save a couple of bucks at the grocery store, this is what you might want to stock up on. The main reason Instant Noodles is #1 on the list of Money Saving Meals at the Grocery Store!