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On the federal chopping block: Â鶹´«Ã½program serving ?ohana, keiki, kupuna

Left: Child holding a plant sprout, Right: Kupuna with veggies in planters
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Left: Child holding a plant sprout, Right: Kupuna with veggies in planters
SNAP-Ed visits schools across Â鶹´«Ã½ to help keiki learn how to grow vegetables for their ʻohana

A vital part of Â鶹´«Ã½?s safety net for financially struggling families and k¨±puna is threatened by federal budget cuts, potentially leading to many more people going hungry and eroding the health of communities.

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹¡¯s SNAP-Ed program, run by the (CTAHR), is one of the federally funded initiatives on the chopping block in the U.S. Congress.

For years, SNAP-Ed has played a key role in teaching ʻohana how to prepare healthy, budget-friendly meals, helping to fight hunger and support community well-being across the state.

Bags of seeds and paper instructions
Every bag of seeds from SNAP-Ed comes with instructions on how to nurture them

“Our college has been working with local families and k¨±puna (elders) through SNAP-Ed for more than 20 years,” said Jean Butel, SNAP-Ed program director at CTAHR. “Our SNAP-Ed program has become a trusted community partner that helps about 15,000 community members across Â鶹´«Ã½ every year. We meet people where they are: public schools, farmer¡¯s markets, senior care facilities and other community gathering places.”

Funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture¡¯s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP-Ed teaches eligible ʻohana how to plan meals, stretch their food dollars, compare prices, and even grow their own vegetables.

Program success

Data highlights the program’s effectiveness with CTAHR¡¯s direct education classes:

  • 91% of participants improved their diet.
  • 83% learned to budget, compare prices and plan meals.
  • 40% reported they could afford more food or had enough for the family.

CTAHR and the Â鶹´«Ã½ State Department of Health manage SNAP-Ed programs with a combined $1.57-million budget for this year. However, SNAP-Ed has been eliminated from the federal budget being debated by Congress, putting the future of the program at risk in Â鶹´«Ã½ and nationally.

“We are grateful that Â鶹´«Ã½¡¯s Congressional delegation fully supports SNAP-Ed. With our geographic isolation, high cost of living, and ongoing food insecurity, full funding is essential for Congress to continue supporting Â鶹´«Ã½¡¯s SNAP-Ed families and k¨±puna,” said CTAHR Dean Parwinder Grewal.

If Congress does not restore funding, the program will end on September 30. Supporters say that cutting SNAP-Ed programming could hurt ʻohana already struggling with food insecurity.

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