Maryland SNAP-Ed Defunded, Cutting Nutrition Aid for 640,000

Maryland's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) has been defunded effective October 1st following President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," eliminating a crucial nutrition education program that served low-income families across the state. The program provided nutrition education classes to SNAP participants and low-income individuals while partnering with food pantries, farmers' markets, and community organizations. The closure results in 70 SNAP-Ed employees losing their jobs and affects 700 community partners including Judy Centers and Head Start Centers, with many initiatives being cut back or canceled entirely. In its final year of implementation, Maryland SNAP-Ed reached over 640,000 residents with more than 55,000 individuals participating in education programs that had been consistently growing since the program's inception.

The impact is particularly severe in Frederick County, where Judy Centers—early-learning hubs serving children from birth to age five in Title I school zones—have lost weekly fresh food deliveries, cooking demonstrations, nutrition lessons, and small appliance distributions that encouraged healthy cooking at home. The program also provided monthly fruit and vegetable deliveries to more than 1,500 three and four-year-olds in pre-kindergarten classrooms across the county, regardless of family income. Antonio Silas, director of the Baltimore City Extension program that facilitated the educational program, emphasized that SNAP-Ed filled a crucial gap in food access and education, making discussions about healthy eating more digestible for young people and improving quality of life. The program had partnered with 541 youth education sites and 133 farmers and food pantries to connect local food resources with families in need.

The defunding creates a significant gap not only for families receiving SNAP benefits but also for ALICE families (Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed) who earn above the federal poverty line but struggle to afford basic necessities. In Frederick County, where over 30% of households were in poverty or classified as ALICE in 2023, many families hover just above SNAP eligibility requirements but relied on SNAP-Ed programs as a bridge to access free classes, food drops, and nutrition resources. Leslie Frei, supervisor of early childhood education and Judy Centers at Frederick County Public Schools, noted that children are much less likely to try healthier foods without the social setting provided by these programs, and families are losing critical support that helped stretch limited budgets. The loss extends to programs like Blessings in a Backpack and affects six community schools, 90 pre-kindergarten classrooms, and six Judy Centers across Frederick County alone.