With pandemic-era public benefits ending and high prices on groceries, officials are sounding the alarm about a growing number of Nevada seniors going hungry.
CEO Beth Martino of food security nonprofit Three Square and Marie Baxter with Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada said a reduction of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — or food stamp — benefits as well as inflation are contributing to the post-pandemic increase in food insecurity among the state’s older residents.
“I think the senior crisis is truly its own sort of silent pandemic,” said Baxter, whose organization offers food pantries, home meal deliveries and other services. “And food insecurity is just one tiny, tiny piece of the massive crisis that we are seeing for seniors, … there are also a lot of unscrupulous people that take advantage of seniors who are vulnerable.”…