SOUTHERN MARYLAND — Southern Maryland’s nutrition education network will take a major hit on Oct. 1, when the federally funded SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–Education) ends under the federal budget reconciliation law known as the Big Beautiful Bill. The move will eliminate programming in Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties that has helped families learn to shop for healthy food on a budget, start gardens and cook nutritious meals.
Supporters of the cuts said the change was needed to rein in spending and refocus the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In a May 14, 2025, report titled “Restoring Accountability & Prioritizing Work,” the House Committee on Agriculture described SNAP-Ed as “ineffective and duplicative”. It said the program “yielded no meaningful change in the nutrition or obesity of SNAP participants, eliminating $536 million in annual spending wasted at the expense of the taxpayer.”
Administered by the University of Maryland Extension, SNAP-Ed has received roughly $6.3 million in annual federal funding to serve more than 424,000 Marylanders through partner sites, including schools, Head Start centers, Judy Centers, food pantries and farmers markets. In Southern Maryland, those partnerships include the La Plata Farmers Market, Southern Maryland Food Bank, Charles County Children’s Aid Society, Calvert County Head Start programs and community sites in Lexington Park…