Maryland SNAP-Ed Elimination Creates Widespread Nutrition Education Gap for Vulnerable Families

The elimination of Maryland's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education has created immediate consequences for low-income families across the state, with the program that provided nutrition education classes and partnered with food pantries and farmers' markets being completely defunded as of October 1. The funding cut resulted in 70 employees losing their jobs and affected 700 community partners including Judy Centers and Head Start Centers, creating significant gaps in food access and nutrition education for vulnerable populations.

During its final year of operation in fiscal year 2025, Maryland SNAP-Ed reached over 640,000 residents according to data from the University of Maryland Extension Program. More than 55,000 individuals participated in education programs, with participation numbers steadily increasing since the program's inception. Antonio Silas, director of the Baltimore City Extension program that facilitated the educational program, emphasized the crucial role SNAP-Ed played in addressing food access disparities. There are a lot of places in Baltimore where people cannot get healthy food, and as a result, there's a pretty large gap in knowledge with respect to making good food choices, Silas explained. SNAP-Ed makes these discussions more digestible for young people, so they can understand what it is to be healthy, eat healthy and how it improves quality of life.

In Frederick County, the program's elimination has particularly impacted early childhood education through Judy Centers, which serve children from birth to age five in Title I school zones. Leslie Frei, supervisor of early childhood education and Judy Centers at Frederick County Public Schools, noted that many families already qualified for free and reduced meals, with some schools showing up to 85% of students meeting eligibility criteria. Each of the six Judy Centers in Frederick County had received weekly fresh food deliveries through SNAP-Ed, along with cooking demonstrations, nutrition lessons, and small appliances like Crock-Pots to encourage healthy cooking at home.

The program's reach extended to pre-kindergarten classrooms across the county, providing monthly deliveries of fruits and vegetables to more than 1,500 three and four year olds regardless of family income. Six community schools, 90 pre-kindergarten classrooms and six Judy Centers have now lost access to these food resource programs. Other initiatives like Blessings in a Backpack, which provides weekend food for families, will also feel the effects of the funding cut. Children are much more likely to try different foods if they're doing it in a social setting with their peers, Frei observed. We've heard a lot of feedback over the years that children are now trying these healthy foods at home...we know that the impact, from a broad level, is that young children may not be as inclined to try these healthier and more nutritious foods, while at the same time their families are losing access to them.

The program's closure affects not only families receiving SNAP benefits but also ALICE families - households earning above the federal poverty line but unable to afford basic necessities. In Frederick County, many ALICE families hover just above SNAP eligibility requirements but relied on SNAP-Ed programs for free classes, food drops and nutrition resources to stretch limited budgets. The total percentage of households in poverty and ALICE households in Frederick County exceeded 30% in 2023. We have a lot of poverty, but then we do have a good amount of families just one problem away from being housing or food insecure, which is a huge deal for us as a county, Frei stated.