ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥

“Many of the educational programs delivered at community sites, such as schools, senior centers, farmers’ markets and food pantries, have been supported by SNAP-Ed funding,� said a UA website about . “The elimination of SNAP-Ed funding means there will be fewer staff available to deliver these programs and no SNAP-Ed funds to support associated costs, such as travel, materials or site-based activities.�

UA’s SNAP-Ed programming reached more than 18,600 youths through direct and indirect education, and supported more than 145 partnerships with food pantries and summer feeding sites to “improve food access in underserved communities,� UA said Wednesday in a news release.

SNAP-Ed — a under the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Service — was from the federal fiscal year 2026 budget under the ““ passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump.

The program will be eliminated starting Oct. 1, “limiting monthly financial assistance to low-income households to purchase groceries and healthy foods� and ending educational programs that teach families about healthy meal preparation and physical activity, ABC News reported.

SNAP-Ed teaches communities how to shop for and cook healthy meals and lead physically active lifestyles through initiatives including nutrition education classes, social marketing campaigns, and the improvement of policies, systems and the environment, its website says.

UA’s Cooperative Extension remains “deeply committed to advancing nutrition security, increasing access to healthy food, and promoting physical activity as part of a broader vision for whole health,� Shea Cantu, director of the Community Nutrition Program for UA Cooperative Extension, said in a UA news release Wednesday. “We will continue working in rural, urban and tribal communities alongside our partners to try and find alternative paths forward.�

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥â€™s Cooperative Extension Community Nutrition Program — which included SNAP-Ed and the federal Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program — delivered 5,852 nutrition education classes in 2024, according to its , said the UA news release.

According to the release, extension teams also led “40 community coalitions, started and maintained 61 school and community gardens, and contributed to the development or enhancement of 12 school wellness policies to promote healthier learning environments.�

In ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥, SNAP-Ed is administered by the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Department of Health Services in collaboration with UA’s Cooperative Extension, county health departments, and community organizations, said the website. It said the UA will need to “adaptâ€� to the loss of SNAP-Ed funding.

The UA website or news release did not include information on the number of positions that may be lost at the UA due to SNAP-Ed’s elimination; how much money the UA has lost in federal funds for the program; or if the elimination will lead to lesser food distribution to underserved populations or just lesser educational programs.

At the UA, SNAP-Ed employed 70 people in 53 full-time equivalent positions across the state, said the university’s Extension Director Ed Martin in an earlier notice.

“We are working with federal and state partners to try to reinstate the funding and plan how we will move forward without it, in coordination with UA officials,� Martin said in the July notice. “The federal fiscal year ends September 30, so we still have some time. Still, the impact on our people and those we serve through the program is significant.�

UA’s Cooperative Extension leaders are working to identify alternative sources of funding to “sustain core elements of their community nutrition work� through new partnerships and grant opportunities in collaboration with communities, the release said.