SNAP-Ed has an expiration date, yes, after 33 years of teaching us how to eat and cook, it now has a date for its final goodbye. But don’t confuse it with SNAP, that one is still in place and hopefully will be for many more years!
The Federal Government made this decision after signing a new budget law on July 4 (and with the goal of saving money, as always, from social programs). What’s going to happen now with the families who benefited from this program? We’ll tell you below.
What is SNAP-ED
Since its creation more than 30 years ago, SNAP-Ed has served as an educational extension of the SNAP program (yes, the one with the food stamps), it didn’t give you food aid but it did teach you how to make the most of it, how to plan your shopping and meals without spending, and how to take care of your health from the kitchen as well, a practical, useful and real help designed for those who needed it the most. And now it’s just disappearing.
But what did this program do?
It gave cooking classes, promoted physical exercise, brought fruits and vegetables to neighborhoods where they didn’t reach, and helped families improve their daily diet without it being a huge cost to the family economy (keep in mind that SNAP is designed for families with very modest incomes).
So, it was much more than Pinterest recipes, it was the only thing available to learn how to eat better. They created weekly menus and it was much easier to know what to feed your family without falling into ultra-processed food (especially because we’re talking about a country where the percentage of obesity due to ultra-processed food is excessively high).
Why has it been eliminated?
The House Agriculture Committee labeled it as “ineffective”, despite the data showing its positive impact. This new legislative package imposes stricter work requirements to access SNAP, restricts access to Medicaid, and redistributes funds destined for social programs. Fewer benefits and many more conditions…
Reactions from affected communities
The news has caused a wave of disappointment among those who depended on this initiative. Kristin McCartney, director of SNAP-Ed in West Virginia, explained that many people have already expressed their frustration because this was something people looked forward to every year and that helped improve their lives in a real way. For her part, public health experts like Cindy Leung, from Harvard, have warned that removing this education will make many people go back to relying on processed or less nutritious foods…
Now what?
With SNAP-Ed off the map, there are fewer options for those who already have to stretch every dollar. The contradiction is brutal: the government itself said that educating on nutrition saves healthcare costs in the long term. But even so, they’ve cut it.
It’s also not just a blow to those who received the classes. There are educators, volunteers and social workers who are left without knowing what will happen. Some states are looking for ways to keep something going, even if with help from local associations. But there are no guarantees.
A goodbye that could be costly
SNAP-Ed wasn’t just about learning to cook, it was public health, for everyone. Preventing diseases and giving tools to those who have the least will never be a superfluous expense, this program wasn’t a luxury, it was an investment in a healthier future for everyone. Now that the economy is becoming more and more complicated, the ones suffering the most are those who have the least voice in Congress…
Our SNAP-Ed-funded Food Box program gave 6,300+ boxes of fresh produce to NYC families last year. But now it’s in danger—SNAP-Ed was cut from the federal budget. Fox 5 news visited our site to show what families stand to lose.#ChildrensAidNYC #SaveSNAPEd #FoodAccess pic.twitter.com/IjVg4U2Yjk
— Children’s Aid (@ChildrensAidNYC) August 1, 2025