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Adams County UW‑Extension to lose FoodWIse staff as SNAP‑Ed funding ends; 2026 budget up slightly on salaries
Summary
Committee heard that federal SNAP‑Ed funding will end this year, eliminating FoodWIse staff; county-paid portion of extension educator salaries and contracted FTEs raise the UW‑Extension 2026 request slightly. Supervisors pressed staff about programming done outside Adams County.
At a meeting of the Adams County Land and Water Committee, staff and supervisors examined the University of Wisconsin (UW) Extension 2026 budget and heard that federal SNAP‑Ed funding has been cut, a change that will eliminate local FoodWIse positions by the end of the year.
The budget request for UW‑Extension is up slightly for 2026, driven mainly by county-paid salary increases and contracted extension FTEs, staff said. ‘‘Those two individuals are assigned specifically to Adams County. We pay in Adams County $49,063 per person, and the state picks up the rest of their salary and benefits,’’ the Area Extension Director said when explaining how educator salaries are funded.
Why it matters: the SNAP‑Ed program (branded locally as FoodWIse in many UW‑Extension offices) provided school‑ and community‑based nutrition education for more than 20 years; staff told the committee the federal funding cut will remove that support and lead to layoffs this year.
Committee members asked for clarity about where extension programming is delivered. Supervisor Pazdowski said, ‘‘I just had a question... there’s been question that some of this has been done outside the county,’’ noting examples such as programs held in the Wisconsin Dells and the library in the Town of Rome. The Area Extension Director said extension educators assigned to Adams County sometimes partner with educators from other counties and use organized facilities outside the county for programming; those joint efforts remain part of their assigned work and pay structure.
Staff described other line‑item changes: modest increases for county payroll lines for support staff and contracted services (the latter reflect FTEs supplied through the University of Wisconsin Division of Extension), and reductions in office supplies, copying, mileage and licensing fees. Division‑level cuts are also expected: the director said UW Extension will face an overall 5% reduction in its division budget, which could have further but unspecified effects on local programming.
Staff offered to provide maps showing the school districts and program sites in Adams County to clarify where services reach county residents. Committee members pressed for consolidation of sites to reduce travel and cost, while extension staff pointed to transportation barriers identified in a recent needs assessment and the practical use of already organized spaces in neighboring towns.
Ending: Committee members accepted the presentation for committee input; the UW‑Extension 2026 departmental ask will be forwarded to the county administrator as part of the county budget process. No committee vote was taken on adoption of the UW‑Extension request during this meeting.
