The Trump administration has eliminated a landmark nutrition education program for low-income Americans, a move that contradicts its own Make America Healthy Again agenda.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program, known as SNAP-Ed, will cease to exist within weeks. President Trump signed the elimination into law last July as part of a massive Republican spending and tax bill.
For decades, SNAP-Ed has funded community cooking classes, farmers markets in low-income neighborhoods, school nutrition lessons, and more in every U.S. state. The program is a “pillar of the public health infrastructure in the US,” according to a report published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
The decision to end SNAP-Ed at a time of rising food prices has mystified nutrition advocates and public health experts.
The Contradiction
Wholesome eating is a central part of the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda. But eliminating SNAP-Ed cuts the very programs that help low-income Americans access and prepare healthy food.
“It doesn’t make sense when we have an administration [promoting] the Make America Healthy Again efforts that are focused on decreasing consumption of ultraprocessed foods and wanting to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables,” said Tashara Leak, a professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University, “to then get rid of the largest federally-funded nutrition education program that helps to achieve those goals.”
The White House did not provide specifics to NPR about how eliminating this program aligned with the MAHA agenda. A spokesperson said the law “strengthened SNAP for future generations” and provided tax cuts.
What SNAP-Ed Did
SNAP-Ed traced its origins back to the Food Stamp Act of 1977. It wasn’t until 1992 that funding began, and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 expanded it further. By 2013, it was operating in every state.
Recent SNAP-Ed projects included:
• Cooking workshops led by indigenous chefs in Southwest Colorado
• Meal planning and budgeting classes in Kansas
• A social marketing campaign in Michigan urging parents to model healthy behaviors
• A North Carolina church that built a free fitness center
Federal funding for SNAP-Ed stopped at the end of September 2025, but states with leftover money have until the end of this September to spend it.
Real Impact on the Ground
On a recent July morning inside Ray Food Market, a small corner store in West Philadelphia, nutrition educator Elines Olivares offered shoppers oatmeal samples and taught them about fiber. She was there as part of The Food Trust’s Healthy Corner Store Initiative, largely funded by SNAP-Ed dollars.
Shopper Sherron Dudley, who lost 100 pounds using Ozempic combined with dietary changes, learned that her honey wheat bread was actually flavored white bread. “I gotta change my bread,” she said.
The Food Trust trains store owners and staff and provides stores with refrigerators, shelving, and signage to promote healthy products.
The Cuts and Their Impact
When Trump signed H.R.1 into law last July, it made sweeping changes to SNAP itself, including shifting more costs to states, tightening eligibility rules for immigrants, and expanding work requirements. The left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated that SNAP enrollment dropped by more than 4 million people between then and March 2026.
The law also wiped out all funding for SNAP-Ed, which had a $536 million budget last fiscal year. (For comparison, the federal government spent $99.8 billion on SNAP in the previous fiscal year.)
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said Trump was “strengthening SNAP for the Americans who need it by ensuring these programs are sustainable for future generations.” She did not respond to questions about eliminating SNAP-Ed.
The USDA said it would maintain some nutrition education through other initiatives like the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and FoodSafety.gov.
Was SNAP-Ed Effective?
Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, told The Washington Post last year that “data shows it hasn’t moved the dial in making America healthy again.”
But program operators said they saw positive results. A 2025 report found that 40% of SNAP-Ed participants increased their fruit intake and 34% increased their vegetable consumption. A 2023 Illinois SNAP-Ed report concluded that for every $1 spent, the program would return between $ 5.36 and $ 9.54 in future healthcare savings.
Gina Crist, a community health specialist with the University of Delaware, said agencies had a “very robust reporting mechanism.” She noted that long-term health studies were not allowed under the program’s funding rules, but surveys showed behavioral improvements.
The Consequences
For organizations like Leah’s Pantry, a California-based nonprofit, the loss of SNAP-Ed has been crushing. SNAP-Ed funding accounted for 90% of its budget. The organization has already reduced staff and will do so again after the September funding cutoff.
Adrienne Markworth, the founder and executive director, said the organization will shrink to about one-sixth of its previous size.
“Our food environment is really challenging in this country,” Markworth said. “Many places just simply don’t have an abundance of affordable, fresh, healthy foods. Folks don’t have the opportunity to learn how to prepare their own meals very easily.”
The Bottom Line
The Trump administration eliminated SNAP-Ed, the nation’s largest nutrition education program for low-income Americans, despite promoting healthy eating through its Make America Healthy Again agenda. The $536 million program funded cooking classes, farmers markets, and nutrition lessons in every state. Advocates say the cuts will make it harder for low-income families to afford and prepare healthy food, especially as food prices rise. The White House says the law strengthened SNAP and provided tax cuts.
