UCCE warns CalFresh Healthy Living program will end Sept. 30 after funding cut; county explores school-farm and partner support

Kathleen Carter, nutrition educator for CalFresh Healthy Living at the University of California Cooperative Extension in Amador County, told the Board of Supervisors that federal and state funding for the program has been cut and that local programming must end Sept. 30.

"As of 07/04/2025, the big beautiful bill passed, which completely defunded the CalFresh Healthy Living program in California," Carter said. She told the board she has worked in Amador for three years and during that time the program taught 958 residents directly and distributed indirect education — newsletters, tastings and media — to roughly 86,000 contacts across the county.

The UCCE presentation summarized where the SNAP-Ed funding comes from and how it is administered: the U.S. Department of Agriculture funds SNAP-Ed at the federal level and state agencies distribute those funds to local implementing partners, including UC Cooperative Extension in the Central Sierra. Carter said local implementation reached 27 sites in Amador County over three years and that 10 sites adopted policy, systems and environmental changes such as edible school gardens.

Carter described recent school-focused work: training four teachers across two schools to deliver curriculum (Twigs and Farm to Fork), conducting site-level assessments and Smarter Lunchroom observations, and supporting revisions to a local school wellness policy that had not received a triennial assessment. Mike Pingree, the district's food service director, worked with Carter on Smarter Lunchroom scorecards and purchased salad-bar signage, fruit racks and other equipment; Carter said the district has spent about $38,000 on those items so far.

The presentation also described early planning for a school-farm partnership with Motherlode Land Trust, which holds roughly 160 acres and could provide centralized growing space for produce that schools could procure. Carter said next steps would include soil testing and drafting a business plan and emphasized the staffing, funding and summer-maintenance challenges that affect school-garden-to-cafeteria programs.

Noah Cook, program supervisor for CalFresh Healthy Living in the Central Sierra, told the board that the school district currently distributes meals through the summer, which could help use garden produce during the months when students are not in class.

Carter said extension staff are working to transition program partners to other UC programs where possible (UC Master Gardeners, Master Food Preservers and 4-H) and to leave site materials and assessments in place for local partners. She characterized the ending of CalFresh-funded programming as a loss for local nutrition education and said the county's sites have been briefed and are preparing to seek alternate support.

The board did not take a separate action on the CalFresh program during the meeting; staff said they would continue to support sites that want to sustain gardens and wellness activities without CalFresh funding.