University of Minnesota Extension cutting 60 county educators due to Trump tax bill

When President Donald Trump signed the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” passed by Congress on July 4th, there was a sense that many of the cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) might not be felt right away.

That’s not the case for the University of Minnesota’s 60 county Extension educators charged with teaching about nutrition, health and financial literacy.

Buried in the BBB was a termination of SNAP-Ed staff positions, which are federally funded, by Sept. 30.

In Minnesota, SNAP now becomes largely the bastion of the often cash-strapped 87 county governments, based on how the state funds food stamp benefits and the program’s administration.

Letters went out this week to 60 educators across Minnesota’s mostly rural Extension network telling them their funding had dried up. The state would have received $9.7 million in funding for SNAP-Ed next year.

“Of all the things that could’ve been cut,” said Donna Anderson, SNAP-Ed health and wellness coordinator in north-central Minnesota’s Hubbard County. “And not just to me or to one family but to the whole community. There’s just such a ripple effect.”

Anderson has served as a SNAP educator since 2005, the last 10 years in and around the Park Rapids region, where she brings food lessons weekly to a men and fathers group.

Meetings often start with disc golf. Then the men might learn how to properly dice vegetables or cook meat. They talk about life as fathers or nutritional challenges in rural America.

In the northwoods, with relatively few grocery stores, the weekly communions are vital, Anderson said. She said many have teared up as she shared with them she was leaving, after getting her pink slip Monday.

“It’s just so important for the families. They get reinforcements, and cutting boards and spoons and pizza cutters. We teach them how to use them at home. We talk about sanitation and cleaning and how the kids can help, too,” Anderson said. “It’s not just one thing. It’s so many different things at the same time.”

Last year, 173,000 Minnesotans participated in SNAP-Ed programming, many in Greater Minnesota, said Becky Beyers, spokeswoman for University of Minnesota Extension.

The most prominent SNAP provisions in the federal reconciliation bill involve the imposition of work requirements and a shift from federal to state funds.

Republican lawmakers say the changes reform SNAP and cut waste. “It’s about being good stewards of taxpayer dollars while giving folks the tools to succeed,” Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), said in a statement June 11.

And in a policy document, Republicans have accused the $550 million SNAP-Ed program of being “ineffective and duplicative.”

Democrats such as U.S. Rep. Angie Craig meanwhile argue that the program could have been reformed instead of bluntly eliminated.

“I am always looking for ways to make government work better, but eliminating SNAP-Ed doesn’t improve health outcomes for Americans who use the program to stretch their SNAP dollars, cook healthy meals and improve physical health,” Craig said on Wednesday.

At its core, the job entails ensuring community members smartly make use of nutrition funds. But the Extension programming goes way beyond how to use SNAP dollars.

In Park Rapids, Anderson said she’d been facilitating discussions for developing a wellness center. She also partnered with the farmers market to bring discounted fruits and vegetables for kids and seniors.

In the southwest corner of the state, Jose Lamas in Worthington has been teaching low-income families about financial literacy since 2006. He’s given talks on how to save money on groceries, how to buy a home and how to apply for college scholarships. And since 2021, Lamas, who grew up on a farm in Mexico, has been the coordinator of a community garden program in Worthington that has grown to include about 100 families.

Among his favorite moments, Lamas said, was helping someone start a small taxi business.

“Helping people, finding resources in the community, that’s one of the things I liked about the job,” said Lamas.

Lamas said he’s still in shock after receiving his notice of termination, which arrived the same week he’ll be honored at Worthington’s annual international fair as its “Friend of the Festival.”

There are efforts to raise money to retain educators like Lamas and Anderson, with their years of experience, said Silvia Alvarez Aguilar de Davila, regional extension educator.

But this could prove difficult, as counties could have less money next year due to the tax bill placing additional burdens on counties.

“That’s our hope,” de Davila said, “to keep these educators active in these communities.”