URBANA, Ill. In late July, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign announced it will end a successful Illinois Extension-led program impacting food security and health for 1 million residents annually, affecting nearly 2,000 statewide partnerships, and cutting over 200 jobs — more than one-quarter of Illinois Extension’s workforce. The move is in response to the elimination of federal funding for a program called SNAP-Education, which provides nutrition education for people eligible for SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps and branded as Link in Illinois).
Illinois Extension has led one of the largest SNAP-Ed programs in the country — under the brand Eat.Move.Save — for over 30 years. In this capacity, Extension acts as a hub to map agrifood systems in communities across the state, identify gaps, and develop programs, action plans, partnerships, nutrition education, and interventions based on system elements that drive food insecurity in each community.
Illinois SNAP-Ed networks include schools, food pantries, charitable organizations, grocery stores, farmers, storage and processing facilities, transportation networks, public health departments, state and county agencies, and more. Together with Eat.Move.Save. staff, these networks help Illinoisans in all corners of the state access and prepare healthy food, stretch food dollars, and incorporate movement into their lives.
These programs are effective. Each year, Eat.Move.Save. prevents more than 5,000 cases of obesity and nearly 600 cases of food insecurity among Illinois residents. More than half of program participants report making positive changes after taking part in Eat.Move.Save. activities.
“With 360,000 Illinois residents now at risk of losing SNAP benefits under the new legislation, they’re not just losing the support they rely on to afford food, they’re also losing tools that helped them use that food wisely and stretch it further to feed their families,” said College of ACES Dean Germán Bollero. “SNAP-Ed should be elevated, not eliminated. With a proven track record of improving health and economic outcomes, it represents a model for what effective public service — a key element of our land-grant mission — can look like.”
Read the full release from College of ACES.
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.