On the federal chopping block: UH program serving ‘ohana, keiki and kūpuna

Contact:

Link to video and sound (details below): https://go.hawaii.edu/gJr

***VOSOT script below for consideration***

A vital part of Hawaiʻiʻs safety net for financially struggling families and kūpuna is threatened by federal budget cuts, potentially leading to many more people going hungry and eroding the health of communities.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's SNAP-Ed program, run by the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR), is one of the federally funded initiatives on the chopping block in the U.S. Congress.

For years, SNAP-Ed has played a key role in teaching ʻohana how to prepare healthy, budget-friendly meals, helping to fight hunger and support community well-being across the state.

"Our college has been working with local families and kūpuna (elders) through SNAP-Ed for more than 20 years," said Jean Butel, SNAP-Ed program director at CTAHR. "Our SNAP-Ed program has become a trusted community partner that helps about 15,000 community members across Hawaiʻi every year. We meet people where they are: public schools, farmer's markets, senior care facilities and other community gathering places."

Funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP-Ed teaches eligible ʻohana how to plan meals, stretch their food dollars, compare prices, and even grow their own vegetables.

Program success

Data highlights the program's effectiveness with CTAHR's direct education classes:

• 91% of participants improved their diet.
• 83% learned to budget, compare prices and plan meals.
• 40% reported they could afford more food or had enough for the family.

CTAHR and the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health manage SNAP-Ed programs with a combined $1.57-million budget for this year. However, SNAP-Ed has been eliminated from the federal budget being debated by Congress, putting the future of the program at risk in Hawaiʻi and nationally.

"We are grateful that Hawaiʻi's Congressional delegation fully supports SNAP-Ed. With our geographic isolation, high cost of living, and ongoing food insecurity, full funding is essential for Congress to continue supporting Hawaiʻi's SNAP-Ed families and kūpuna," said CTAHR Dean Parwinder Grewal.

If Congress does not restore funding, the program will end on September 30. Supporters say that cutting SNAP-Ed programming could hurt ʻohana already struggling with food insecurity.

Link to video and sound (details below): https://go.hawaii.edu/gJr

B-ROLL: (1 minute, 51 seconds)

CTAHR staff working with Hawaiʻi families: :00 to :43

SOUND:

Grewal Parwinder/CTAHR Dean

:43-:58 (15 seconds)

"If SNAP-Ed is eliminated, it is going to be a big problem for so many of our families. And they are going to struggle to buy enough food to feed their families, and they will also end up making unhealthy choices."

:59-1:12 (13 seconds)

"On the top of that, we have 13 staff members that work across the state with so many schools and nonprofits who lose their jobs, and that is their livelihood."

Jean Butel/SNAP-Ed director, CTAHR

1:14-1:33 (19 seconds)

"SNAP-Ed really goes into communities and works with them. We figure out what they really need, how we can make it most applicable and relevant to them and we work with the partners in these communities to bring skills and resources and tools so people can eat healthier on a low budget."

1:34-1:50 (16 seconds)

"The people who've taken some of our SNAP-Ed classes, 91 percent of them end up having healthier eating habits after the class, they eat healthier, and 83 percent of them are able to manage their food resources and stretch their dollars further."

***Suggested VOSOT script***

INTRO
A vital support program at UH Mānoa, serving kūpuna and families trying to make ends meet is facing an uncertain future.

VO
In Hawaiʻi, SNAP-Ed helps 15,000 people a year learn how to stretch food budgets and make healthy meals at home. And at times, even grow their own vegetables.

The program has been eliminated from the federal budget being debated by Congress. This puts SNAP-Ed at risk in Hawaiʻi and nationally.

SOT (Jean Butel/SNAP-Ed program director, UH CTAHR)

<"SNAP-Ed really goes into communities and works with them. We figure out what they really need, how we can make it most applicable and relevant to them and we work with the partners in these communities to bring skills and resources and tools so people can eat healthier on a low budget.">

VO

If SNAP-Ed is cut it could also eliminate more than a dozen jobs at UH. Right now, the program is funded through September 30.