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The 2023 SNAP E&T State Institute, hosted by the Food and Nutrition Service, brought together 20 state SNAP agencies for a two-day event that aimed to assess and enhance their SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) programs. The theme of the event, "Mind the Gap: Building a Bridge from Vision to Outcomes in Your SNAP E&T Program," emphasized the importance of addressing gaps and challenges in these programs to achieve better outcomes for participants.

One year after the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health held on September 28, 2022, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service continues accelerating progress on the conference’s goals to end hunger, improve healthy eating and physical activity, and reduce diet-related diseases and disparities.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides nutrition assistance to about 42 million Americans in need each month. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) ensures that benefits are as convenient and easy to use as possible, however, historically there have been challenges when it comes to connecting participants with local farmers. Fortunately, modern technologies and innovative solutions have emerged to bridge this gap. By embracing online purchasing and mobile payment systems, FNS is creating a more efficient, inclusive, and mutually beneficial relationship between SNAP participants and farmers.

Summer is a beautiful time to travel the country and visit with partners, and I am delighted, humbled and honored to have visited the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, and Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe last month. It was inspiring and impressive to see how the tribes are dreaming big in terms of food sovereignty - delivering healthy, fresh, locally sourced, and traditional foods to their members in their communities through the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides nutrition support to millions of American families in need. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) works with partner states to ensure that SNAP provides the right amount of benefits to eligible families in the prescribed timeframes.

After years of working in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Louisiana and Washington, I am thrilled to bring my state-level experience to my role as Senior Advisor for USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). Though I now have a nationwide scope, field work will always be near and dear to my heart, and for policymakers to make the best decisions, we must remain attuned to the stories and impacts on the ground, where clients interact directly with our programs.

Several studies consistently link poor access to food to poor health outcomes, including heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. Project Bread, a Massachusetts’ nonprofit focused on permanently solving food insecurity, teamed up with MassHealth to pilot the Flexible Services Program, or FSP, to bolster food security and meet nutritional needs from birth throughout childhood and beyond, improving health outcomes at every stage of life. Since April 2020, over 7,000 MassHealth members (ranging in age from 0 months to 64 years) with complex health issues were given an array of food resources, including gift cards for groceries, cooking supplies, refrigerators, cooking classes, transportation assistance, and nutrition education.

Soon, many SNAP households will experience a change to their benefit amounts. That’s because the temporary pandemic-related boost to SNAP benefits, known as emergency allotments (EA), is coming to an end.

Last month, 350 SNAP Employment and Training, or E&T, state agencies and other partners from across the country gathered for the 2022 SNAP E&T National Forum in Alexandria, VA. Deputy Under Secretary for USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, Stacy Dean, opened the conference with an important reminder, sharing:

On August 14-19, my leadership team and I traveled to Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern Marianna Islands (CNMI) to meet with the territories’ leadership, Superintendents and Commissioners, that administer USDA food assistance programs. We discussed the challenges of transitioning back to pre-pandemic operations and how USDA could assist. We also wanted to hear and see what has worked well, so we could share lessons learned with other states and territories as they transition to post pandemic operations.