LAS VEGAS - The Kaiser Family Foundation says the number of people in Nevada on food stamps rose by 45 percent earlier this year - the second-fastest increase in the nation behind Utah.
Nevada's unemployment rate, which hit 13.2 percent recently, has record numbers receiving government help for food, medical care and cash assistance.
James Kowalski, a National Guardsman and a union carpenter, was at a state welfare office last week planning ahead so that when he depletes his savings, he can get food stamps.
Kowalski, 40, was recently laid off from the Hoover Dam bypass project. He went from making $1,100 a week on the job to a $400-a-week unemployment check.
Utah officials said at last count in August that the number of people on food stamps reached 88,000, a 51 percent increase from the same month a year ago.