URBANA, Ill. — There are many barriers Illinois residents face in making healthy choices. For over 30 years, University of Illinois Extension’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) programs have helped people stretch their food dollars while increasing their nutrition and improving their health. Each year, SNAP-Ed reaches over 1 million Illinois residents, working with over 1800 community partners across all of Illinois’ 102 counties, making healthy choices and healthy food more accessible throughout the state.
The SNAP-Ed workforce, housed in Illinois Extension’s portfolio of work under the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, engages a wide network of local, regional, and statewide partners to provide in-person, community-based nutrition education for those who qualify for SNAP assistance. The Illinois Extension SNAP-Ed team, operating as the Eat.Move.Save. brand, also works to reduce the risk of chronic disease by helping to make nutritious food choices and active living opportunities more accessible and viable in Illinois. The program is delivered by University of Illinois Extension and University of Illinois Health’s Chicago Partnership for Health Promotion.
"Every week, our educators hear from parents who say they finally feel confident reading nutrition labels and stretching their food dollars to make ends meet while providing healthier meals for their families,” says Jennifer McCaffrey, Illinois Extension’s assistant dean and program leader for family and consumer sciences. “We work with seniors learning new ways to manage chronic conditions through the food they eat, and with children trying fresh fruits and vegetables for the first time.”
“These are real people — our neighbors — whose lives are changed because someone took the time to meet them where they are and offer support,” McCaffrey emphasizes. “Eliminating SNAP-Ed would erase those touchpoints of trust, progress, and health in communities that need them most.
Federal program funding at serious risk
The House-passed reconciliation bill, currently under consideration in the Senate, ends funding nationwide for SNAP-Ed, including SNAP-Ed programs administered through University of Illinois Extension. The Senate’s current version of the bill also eliminates SNAP-Ed funding. If this happens, Illinois will lose significant impact and returns on investment, including:
- Illinois SNAP-Ed would no longer serve as a statewide connector and collaborator across federally funded nutrition programs, community partners, and public agencies to improve access to healthy food and promote active living for low-income families.
- Discontinuation of collaborations with over 1,800 organizations in 245 communities — SNAP-Ed drives impactful initiatives, including public health partnerships, food policy development, and innovative projects like Find Food Illinois, a comprehensive food resource map with statewide reach.
- Elimination of programs such as Hunters Feeding Illinois and mobile food markets that expand nutritious food access in underserved areas, as well as grocery store and community revitalization efforts promoting local food systems.
- 230 Illinois SNAP-Ed program staff positions would be eliminated, creating gaps within our communities where SNAP-Ed community and organizational supports, direct education programming, and social marketing interventions are delivered with the current workforce. An additional 100 positions that are partially supported by the program would need to be reassigned or adjusted. $1 million in operating expenses would need to be reabsorbed, affecting the size of local Extension offices.
- Over 60 IDHS Family and Community Resource Centers would no longer receive SNAP-Ed information, which directly helps those who receive food benefits use them more effectively.
- Over 8,600 seniors would no longer receive nutrition education information that helps them use their food packages.
- There will be a ripple effect across all USDA nutrition programs that SNAP-Ed supports via policy systems and environmental changes, and through community coalitions and committees led/co-led by SNAP-Ed.
Real results and real impact for a substantial statewide need
SNAP-Ed efforts in Illinois are generating quantifiable impact in the health and wellness of the state. Illinoisans receive between $5.36 and $9.54 in return for each dollar spent helping Supplemental Nutritional Assistance. Benefits include health care cost savings ($35.7 million to $65.8 million) and increased education, life expectancy, and lifetime earnings ($40.3 million to $69.5 million) due to decreased rates of obesity and food insecurity. For a single year of programming, Illinois SNAP-Ed was estimated to generate future benefits for:
- Federal government between $23.9 million and $43.5 million,
- State and local governments between $5.4 million and $9.4 million, and
- Households and the private sector between $46.7 million and $82.4 million
More than 59% of SNAP-Ed participants report increasing their physical activity, eating more fruits and vegetables, and trying healthy recipes because of their involvement in these educational activities.
Altarum, an independent nonprofit health research organization, analyzed the return on the government’s annual $18 million investment in Illinois SNAP-Education. Individual benefits of obesity prevention, reduced chronic disease risk, and overall health improvements translate into long-term societal benefits: Decreased healthcare costs and morbidity lead to improved education and employment opportunities over a longer life expectancy. Illinois SNAP-Ed programs are estimated to generate future societal benefits from $76 million to $135.3 million for a single year of programming. In a typical year, over 5,000 cases of obesity and nearly 600 cases of food insecurity among Illinois children and adults are prevented. To access additional highlights of the evaluation, visit go.illinois.edu/ILSNAPedImpacts.
Action needed
This isn’t a minor cut — the current state of the reconciliation bill would result in a total shutdown of a national program that individuals, families, and communities across the country and right here in Illinois depend on to promote healthier lives and stronger food systems. College of ACES Dean Germán Bollero has urged advocacy for this key programmatic priority. The Illinois Connections network is one pathway for concerned individuals to respond. Partners and advocates with connections to legislators in other states are also urged to share their concerns and experiences with the impact of SNAP-Ed in their communities.
Writer: Bridget Lee-Calfas, Director of Marketing and Communications
Interviews: Contact Bridget Lee-Calfas, 217-333-6282, bklee@illinois.edu for interview requests.
About SNAP-Ed: Making healthy choices is not always easy, especially when families struggle financially. University of Illinois SNAP-Ed makes a difference by working with partners to reach Illinois families through engaging face-to-face classes or events, online resources, and healthy messaging strategies. SNAP-Ed participates in strategic local, regional, and statewide partnerships to transform the health of communities.
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 700 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through six program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, family and consumer science, integrated health disparities, and natural resources, environment, and energy.