United States Department of Agriculture

FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 

Education (SNAP-Ed) 

What Is SNAP-Ed?

SNAP-Ed is an evidence-based program that promotes healthy 

food choices, obesity prevention, and physical activity. SNAPEd teaches participants about good nutrition and how to make 

their food dollars stretch further. 

Who Administers SNAP-Ed?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and 

Nutrition Service (FNS) administers SNAP-Ed at the Federal 

level. States receive funding to administer and implement 

the program at the local level. State SNAP-Ed grant funding 

allocations are defined in statute, through a formula that is 

used on each State’s SNAP participation rates, as well as its 

share of SNAP-Ed funding from base year 2009.

How Does SNAP-Ed Work?

State agencies deliver SNAP-Ed by coordinating with local 

community partners such as universities, food banks, or other 

providers that serve low-income individuals. In order to receive 

funds, States must submit an annual plan to FNS. State plans 

must include a description of how SNAP-Ed programming will 

coordinate with other Federal nutrition programs such as the 

USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) 

Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). 

States have flexibility to deliver SNAP-Ed through a variety of 

approaches to meet their local nutrition education and obesity 

prevention needs. 

The community partners are required to use interventions that 

combine traditional approaches such as individual and group 

nutrition classes with public health and environmental change 

approaches that help participants make healthy choices. 

The SNAP-Ed Interventions Toolkit is a collection of evidencebased nutrition and physical activity interventions that is 

publicly available to help SNAP-Ed implementing agencies 

select appropriate interventions for their communities. 

The SNAP-Ed Toolkit also houses the interactive SNAP-Ed 

Evaluation Framework, which provides SNAP-Ed partners with 

51 evidence-based behavior change indicators to choose from 

to evaluate the success of their activities. 

The SNAP-Ed Connection website acts as an information 

clearinghouse for SNAP-Ed State agencies, program partners, 

researchers, and the public. The SNAP-Ed Connection contains 

program guidance, training, and educational resources in an 

easily navigable website. Success Stories highlight effective 

best practices such as partnering with other FNS programs, 

like Farm to School, and engaging stakeholders such as food 

banks and retailers in low-income communities. 

Who Participates in SNAP-Ed?

SNAP-Ed’s target audience is SNAP participants and lowincome individuals eligible to receive SNAP benefits or other 

means-tested Federal assistance programs, such as Medicaid 

or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), as well 

as individuals residing in communities with a significant lowincome population. 

Where Can I Go To Learn More About SNAP-Ed?

For more information you can visit the SNAP-Ed 

Connection website at https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/. 

To find SNAP-Ed providers near you, you can visit 

https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/state-snap-ed-programs 

and click on your State. 

Whom at FNS Can I Contact To Discuss SNAP-Ed? 

Please contact the FNS Division of External and Governmental 

Affairs at fnsgovaffairs@usda.gov. 

SNAP-Ed Allocations FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019

Allocations (millions) $401 $407 $408 $414 $421 $433

December 2020, FNS-829 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.