The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education, known as SNAP-Ed, provides a unique approach to healthy living. The initiative, which is an extension of the government\u2019s SNAP program, aims to help program recipients budget properly and make healthy food choices.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For state-contracted partners in Pennsylvania, like Vetri Community Partnership<\/a>, this means being able to provide unique services and experiences to school students, said Maddy Booth, the organization\u2019s CEO.<\/p>\n \u201cFor our particular program, we create about 15,000 experiences per year with the funds,\u201d she said. \u201cThat could be a tasting, it could be a cooking class, it could be a trip to a farm,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Recent, extensive cuts to the parent program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), will affect millions of recipients in Pennsylvania. They will also affect programming by organizations like VCP.\u00a0<\/p>\n SNAP-Ed funding is scheduled to go away on October 1.<\/p>\n Helping the community\u00a0<\/p>\n Vetri Community Partnership works with Philly school leaders to bring programming including fruit and vegetable promotion, school garden curriculum, evidence-based cooking classes, and workshops for families or caregivers on-site.\u00a0<\/p>\n Booth explained there is lots of anecdotal evidence and data to show the benefits of VCP\u2019s programming in particular, and SNAP-Ed programs generally.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe see a lot of students enjoying something for the first time, whether it\u2019s a fruit or vegetable prepared at all or prepared in that way,\u201d she said. \u201cWe see a lot of people saying, \u2018I can cook now!\u2019 and feeling confident and feeling engaged and curious in cooking at home.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2024, 21 partner agencies provided SNAP-Ed programs in Pennsylvania with things like nutrition education, change strategies and social marketing. Data shows<\/a> that the programs encourage healthy habits that have tangible benefits.<\/p>\n In the fiscal year 2024, 44% of students in 8th to 12th grade who participated in SNAP-Ed nutrition education programs said they ate more vegetables than they had.<\/p>\n Additionally, 39% of students in 4th to 6th grade participated in 60 minutes or more of physical activity on more days of the week.\u00a0<\/p>\n Booth said these cuts to SNAP will not only affect family\u2019s spending, but also the opportunities to provide this education and promote healthier living.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe ripple effects could be quite significant, especially paired with the cuts to SNAP dollars,\u201d she said. \u201cThe goal of this program was to help folks stretch the already limited budget that they were potentially receiving to support their family\u2019s food consumption and intake. So, I think that we are certainly going to be more aware of what neighborhoods and communities need more support in accessing food and then accessing nutrition education, because I think those two things go hand in hand.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Pay a doctor or pay a farmer\u2019<\/p>\n