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Yuma County public‑health program faces cuts; federally funded community program to end Sept. 30
Summary
Public Health Director Diana Gomez told supervisors a long‑running federally funded community nutrition/active‑living program received zeroed funding and will cease activities on Sept. 30, 2025, raising concerns about gaps in school and senior services.
Yuma County Public Health officials told the Board of Supervisors that reductions in federal grant funding have forced service retrenchment and the termination of a long‑running community engagement program.
"This program actually was not funded, 0 funding. So we will be terminating all activities related to this program effective September 30," Public Health Director Diana Gomez said, summarizing the effect on school gardens, classroom nutrition education, senior community gardens and annual events such as 'Body Walk.'
Gomez said the program—operating locally since 1999—supported nutrition education across the lifespan, helped set up school gardens, ran farm‑to‑family events and partnered with local food‑access coalitions. She warned that without replacement funding some activities will stop and that schools or community partners would need to take responsibility or seek other grants to continue them.
Board members urged exploring local foundation or private support and increasing volunteer recruitment as stopgaps; several supervisors noted that local capacity exists but questioned how long volunteers can sustain program delivery without funding. Gomez emphasized the county will look for alternative funding but wanted residents to know services will be reduced or unavailable until then.
What’s next: The board did not vote on the presentation; Public Health staff said they will pursue additional funding sources and notify partner organizations about the Sept. 30 program end date.
