UMN Extension lays off SNAP-Ed educators, result of Big Beautiful Bill

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – The University of Minnesota Extension announced on Monday, Jul. 7 it was laying off all 60 nutrition and health educators in its SNAP-Ed program. The cuts are a result of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which eliminated federal funding for SNAP education programs across the country.

SNAP-Ed is the free educational arm of the federal food assistance program SNAP. For 35 years, Minnesota educators have been teaching SNAP recipients lessons, including how to budget SNAP funds, cook healthy meals, grow a garden, and stay physically healthy.

In Minnesota, the program is run through the University of Minnesota Extension, in collaboration with community organizations and tribal nations.

Congressional Republicans made changes to SNAP benefits to help offset revenue lost by the bill’s signature tax cuts. The goal, they said, was to help remove waste, fraud, and abuse from the program.

However, those changes are expected to be made over the course of the next several years. A separate section of the bill expressly cuts SNAP education by Sep. 30, which marks the end of the federal fiscal year. $7.2 million was earmarked for SNAP-Ed annually, a fraction of the nearly $113 billion in SNAP funding. It will not be renewed.

Southeast Regional Coordinator of SNAP-Ed Health and Wellness Programs Susan Draves said the program serves communities in ways other agencies cannot.

“SNAP-Ed is an important program because we can do things that, for example, public health can’t do,” Draves said. “We are on the ground, our teams are on the ground, boots on the ground, oftentimes speaking multiple languages. So, bringing a cultural approach, if needed, to our students in schools, or out in the community teaching nutrition education.”

Draves leads a team of six, most of whom will be out of their job by mid-August. They are stationed across southeast Minnesota serving 11 counties:

• Olmsted
• Rice
• Steele
• Winona
• Mower
• Dodge
• Freeborn
• Houston
• Fillmore
• Wabasha
• Goodhue

Olmsted County has educators that speak Spanish and Somali, reflective of the communities in the region. Statewide, educators speak Hmong and Oromo as well.

8% of Minnesotans rely on SNAP benefits, all of whom will lose access to educational programming. On average, SNAP recipients receive $6 per person per day for their meals.

SNAP-Ed runs several programs to educate both the public and food shelves. One program, SuperShelves, helps food shelves improve the layout and offerings of their physical spaces. The goal is to reduce the stigma of shopping at a food shelf and promote shopper choice. UMN Extension says it served 57,000 people in 42 counties.

Another program is Cooking Matters, which teaches recipients how to make the most of their food.

“We’re talking about six sessions of cooking classes,” Draves said. “Two-hour cooking classes where participants get to cook their own food with each other so they’re building community, making social connections, and they get to have some nutrition education as well.”

Besides SNAP recipients, farmers who grow foods could be affected as well. UMN Extension anticipates with less education surrounding the SNAP program, there may be fewer customers seeking fresh foods decreasing profits for farmers.

Draves said her team was shocked at the news, even though they had watched the bill swing back and forth through Congress. The team had previously met with staffers of 1st District Representative Brad Finstad, who listened to their presentation on the program.

“They were glad we came. They loved hearing about it, and we had a great conversation,” Draves said.

Finstad later voted “yes” on the bill.

Regardless of the outcome, she said her team is made of caring individuals driven to do good in the community.

“They’re talented. They’re professional. They have compassion in their hearts, and they’re incredibly skilled at working with people. They love their work and they give their all when they’re out there. They care,” she said.

Find stories like this and more, in our apps.