SNAP-Ed Program

Funded by the USDA, the SNAP nutrition education program encourages students, adults, seniors, and community members to choose healthier foods and active lifestyles.

Through direct, evidence-based nutrition lessons, participants learn strategies to adopt healthy habits that will have an impact on their health.

  • SNAP-Ed educators work with community partners to create healthier environments by influencing local policies and systems.
  • The program is no-cost to eligible locations and has served over 60,000 Pennsylvania residents annually.
  • Partners include early childhood centers, K-12 schools, food pantries, and other community locations.
View our 2023 SNAP-Ed Impact Report

SNAP-Ed Impact Report

PSE Initiatives

Using the Go NAPSACC tool, SNAP-Ed assists partners with self-assessment, goal setting, action planning, implementation, policy development, and evaluation related to a variety of focus areas: Child Nutrition, Breastfeeding & Infant Feeding, Farm to ECE, Oral Health, Infant & Child Physical Activity, Outdoor Play & Learning, and Screen Time. Students, caregivers, and ECE site staff benefit from classroom resources to promote healthy eating and physical activity behaviors, playground and indoor/outdoor play space improvements, access to educational opportunities, and technical assistance and materials for Farm to ECE activities.

Through Farm Fresh, SNAP-Ed supports traditional farmers markets in promoting the Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), assisting shoppers in utilizing their benefits at the market, and highlighting seasonal produce through food demonstrations, tastings, and nutrition education materials. SNAP-Ed also partners with agencies and organizations that issue WIC and Senior FMNP benefits to host pop-up markets that enable participants to utilize their benefits on-site.

SNAP-Ed supports school engagement in farm to school, facilitating student access to healthy, local foods as well as experiential education opportunities such as school gardens, classroom growing projects, resources and materials to promote PA Harvest of the Month, “meet the grower” events, and more.

Through this initiative of Feeding PA, SNAP-Ed collaborates with food assistance partners to increase healthy food and beverage options available to patrons and clients. In addition to increasing access to nutritious food, nutrition educators work to encourage consumption of those foods through environmental changes, healthy food tastings, demonstrations, recipes, classes, and more.

Adagio Health’s ParksRx program is modeled after regional and national programs to offer a low cost, safe, and practical behavioral intervention. Ultimately, connecting with nature through ParksRx can be a beneficial form of chronic disease treatment and prevention across the lifespan.

In partnership with UMPC Children’s Hospital, SNAP-Ed supports students, staff, and school communities through wellness initiatives and technical assistance from The Alliance for a Healthier Generation that facilitate positive policy, systems, and environmental change.

Funding Statement

This institution is an equal opportunity provider. This material was funded by USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through the PA Department of Human Services (DHS).

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