Champaign, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Hundreds of Illinois Extension jobs are being cut after the University of Illinois College of ACES announced it will end it’s SNAP-Ed program.
According to our news partners at WAND TV, the college said they are ending the program due to federal funding cuts to the SNAP-Education program, which provides nutrition education for SNAP-eligible people.
According to the University, Illinois Extension is cutting over 200 jobs, which accounts for more than a quarter of their workforce.
Illinois Extension has led the program under the brand Eat.Move.Save for more than 30 years. The College of ACES said the program prevents over 5,000 cases of obesity and almost 600 cases of food insecurity in Illinois every year.
Illinois SNAP-Ed staff also helped launch IL-EATS, a statewide initiative that connects local food producers with hunger relief organizations. The college says that program will also end in the coming year.
