National nutrition education program with local impact slated for elimination by Congress

Photo: MSU Extension’s Jane Rapin prepared lentil soup at a cooking demonstration day at Leelanau Christian Neighbors.

By Jacob Wheeler

Sun editor

Jane Rapin, a community nutrition instructor with Michigan State University Extension, offered a food demonstration that featured fresh asparagus and quinoa salad earlier this spring at Leelanau Christian Neighbors’ (LCN) food pantry in Lake Leelanau.

May and early June are asparagus season in northwest Michigan, and LCN received a donation of locally grown stalks.

“It was very well received. People were inspired by it,” said Rapin. “We did a short presentation about why this is nutritious and how cook with it. It’s important that we reach people who may not be familiar with asparagus.”

Rapin’s work at the food pantry and other Leelanau locations including Northport high school and the Benodjenh tribal Head Start preschool in Peshawbestown is funded by the Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program, or commonly known as SNAP-Ed. The national nutrition education program is slated for elimination under the budget bill passed on May 22 by a single vote by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The Senate will pass its own bill in the coming weeks.

LCN executive director Mary Stanton loves when Rapin visits and offers food demos approximately once a month. The nutrition instructor, based out of Grand Traverse County, tries to incorporate whatever fresh ingredients are available in the food pantry. Sometimes that’s a kale salad, sometimes it’s poblano peppers.

“When people taste her food samples, they’re able to walk through our pantry and get most of those ingredients for free,” said Stanton. “It’s about teaching people to eat differently. Our customers are really excited to see her. I’m one of them.”

Stanton estimated that 155 people visited Leelanau Christian Neighbors during Rapin’s last food demo. LCN averages more than 170 visitors per week, many of them families.

“We’re up 26-30 percent since January,” said Stanton. “We are seeing an uptick of people coming to our food pantry. People understand that with the high cost of utilities and rent, being able to come to Leelanau Christian Neighbors and get $250 worth of groceries for the week really extends the income people have.”

LCN requires the name, address, and birth date of each visitor, to verify that they live in the county and to keep track of the services they provide.

“We see a lot of people and a lot of need,” said Stanton. “People are finding it harder to exist in our county. You can only stretch a dollar so far.”

Leelanau County may attract stories nationwide—including another New York Times feature last month—for its Sleeping Bear Dunes, its dynamic restaurants, farmers markets and wineries, and its wealth along the shoreline, but many in our peninsula struggle to get by. A United Way ALICE Report (Asset Limited, and Income Constrained, yet are Employed) from 2019 revealed that 37 percent of Leelanau households earn above the federal poverty level, but not enough to afford the cost of living here. And 43 percent of households can not afford any unexpected expenses (such as car repairs or health deductibles) or increases in basic expenses (such as fuel or food). Kasson and Leelanau townships have the highest number of ALICE households, at 52 and 50 percent, respectively.

For many of these families, Leelanau Christian Neighbors’ food pantry is a lifeline.

Depending on the U.S. Senate’s budget bill this summer, and how Congress reconciles the two pieces of legislation, SNAP-Ed—which funds Rapin’s MSU Extension work—as well as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid, could face steep funding cuts and increased barriers to enrollment, which could affect millions of low-income individuals and families, including in Leelanau.

“SNAP-Ed benefits our neighbors,” said Stanton. “We believe (the elimination of SNAP-Ed, SNAP and Medicaid) would mean a large uptick in people needing our services.”

Access to fruits and vegetables

Rapin also offers nutrition education at Northport High School and the Benodjenh tribal Head Start preschool, the recipient of an innovative pantry-to-preschool program funded by the Father Fred Foundation and which enrolls 30 families. Food boxes are delivered to families twice a month with important pantry items and easy to follow picture-based recipes.

Nutrition education demonstrations at Benodjenh gives students the chance to try foods in a safe and fun environment.

“I can take for granted the foods I eat every day,” said Rapin. “One child had never eaten a blueberry. The program increases their access to fruits and vegetables.

Trista Erickson, Benodjenh’s director, credited the pantry-to-preschool partnership between MSU Extension and Father Fred as being “a great help to our program. Last year it provided approximately $50,000 in groceries (on a biweekly basis) and recipes to our families and staff experiencing food insecurity..”

Benodjenh runs on federally-funded Early Head Start and Head Start programs as well as state-funded Great Start Readiness, and federally-funded and tribally-funded childcare programs which are specifically designed to provide services for low-income families.

“Eliminating federal funds like SNAP-Ed and other federally funded programs would devastate so many families,” said Erickson. “I’m hoping the current administration doesn’t cut federal funding. These are such critical programs that affect so many people across the nation.”

At Northport High School, Rapin works together with a teacher who wanted to provide a cooking experience integrated with science lessons, such as studying how nutrient-rich foods affect the body. Through a SNAP-Ed funded mini-grant program accessible to Rapin at MSU Extension, she supported the school by acquiring five cooking sets for students to use. They also received two hydroponic “tower gardens” for the science classrooms, grew a “salsa garden” and learned to make a homemade salad dressing.

“The students really got confident in the kitchen and shared recipes at home, which leads to them cooking together with their families,” said Rapin. “This program teaches the ‘why’ and helps make making healthy choices easier.”

Schools such as Northport and Benodjenh qualify for SNAP-Ed support from MSU Extension because 50 percent or more of their students are from families that are eligible for or receive SNAP benefits. 

Leelanau Christian Neighbors, Northport and Benodjenh, as well partners throughout the state rely on SNAP-Ed funded MSU Extension staff to make changes and launch initiatives they see as important in their communities, said Terra Bogart, staff development educator at MSU Extension and Rapin’s supervisor.

“These partnerships we have rely on SNAP-Ed funding not just from a coaching and expertise standpoint but about making healthier changes in the physical environment,” she explained. “SNAP-Ed disappearing would negatively impact our partners.

“With the cost of food going up, it would be a huge loss to the community.”

Bogart said that if the Senate bill also eliminates SNAP-Ed funding, “it would effectively be gone by Oct. 1, when our next fiscal year begins.”

Bergman: “Childhood obesity has worsened”

Congressman Jack Bergman, a Republican who has represented Michigan’s first congressional district since 2017, and who voted for the House legislation on May 22—dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” by Trump—has told constituents he thinks SNAP-Ed has been “disappointing” because childhood obesity in the United States has worsened.

“SNAP-Ed, the program’s educational component, was created to promote healthy eating habits and active lifestyles among individuals and families eligible for SNAP benefits. While the intent behind SNAP-Ed is commendable, the results have been disappointing,” Bergman wrote in an email to northern Michiganders who contacted him out of concern that cutting funding would hurt vulnerable people.

“When the program was enacted in 2008, approximately 16.8 percent of U.S. children were classified as obese. Despite more than $5 billion invested over the past 15 years, childhood obesity has worsened—rising to over 21 percent by 2023. Even more concerning, the rate of severe obesity among children has more than doubled, reaching 7 percent.

“Tough decisions must be made, and if it comes down to choosing between feeding a person in need or funding a program with no measurable results, I will always choose to put food on the table. Unfortunately, SNAP-Ed has not delivered on its promise to improve public health, and it is time we reassess our approach to addressing obesity and nutrition education in America.”

“SNAP-Ed works”

MSU Extension’s Terra Bogart said that profound and complex changes in how we function as a culture have driven the rise in childhood obesity in recent decades.

“There’s a variety of factors at play since SNAP-Ed began. A big factor recently has been screen time (for children).”

SNAP-Ed’s genesis was in the Food Stamp Act of 1977, which lay the groundwork for food stamp nutrition education (FSNE). In 1992, seven states approved FSNE plans. In 2008, the Farm Bill strengthened the nutrition education program and changed its name to SNAP-Ed. The Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 expanded the program’s scope to include physical activity promotion and obesity prevention. The changes in 2010 enabled SNAP-Ed to function as a comprehensive public health intervention.  

Bogart said that cutting SNAP-Ed and other programs because of rising childhood obesity—as Congressman Bergman implies—“takes a short-sighted and narrow view of the issue. It neglects to see the overall impact and data that we have and that I see and hear every day,” she said.

“We know that SNAP-Ed works. We use evidence-based strategies and innovations to improve environmental health. A lot of the work we’ve done in the last five years has been focused on policy systems and environmental change. These ideas are really well thought out, and we use a standardized, nationally recognized USDA evaluation framework, ensuring consistent measurement, accountability and continuous improvement.  

Bogart’s staff covers 13 Michigan counties, and each one plays a particular role in that community.

“Each staff member works in different ways to support the unique needs of that county,” she said. “It could be supporting the work at a farmer’s market or food pantry or at a faith-based organization. It would be devastating across the state to see the program disappear.”

Erin Moore, Associate Director of Michigan State University Extension’s Health and Nutrition Institute, described SNAP-Ed as “a cornerstone of our work.”

“For more than 30 years, we have proudly served as a SNAP-Ed implementing agency, helping individuals and families with limited resources make healthier food choices, engage in physical activity, and make the most of their food budgets. Beyond nutrition education, this work changes policies, systems, and environments to make healthy choices lasting and easier for all. We have seen firsthand the difference this program makes in improving health outcomes and reducing long-term healthcare costs.”