Maine SNAP-Ed
Nutrition Education
“I have been bringing recipes and tastings into food pantries to show individuals what’s possible with the food that is already available, while also supporting food pantries in other ways to promote healthy choices. This encourages exploration and cultivates resourcefulness to make healthy food choices.”
On September 30, 2025, the Maine SNAP-Ed program, which has served communities across the state for over 30 years, ended all direct programming and is in the process of ramping down through January 2026. This decision is a result of the elimination of federal funding following the passage of Public Law 119-21, the budget reconciliation bill.
This initiative was federally funded through the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) grant, which was held by the State of Maine and administered statewide by the University of New England (UNE). UNE contracted with Healthy Acadia to implement the nutrition education objectives across Hancock and Washington counties.
“Over the past few years, I’ve had the pleasure of delivering Nutrition Education to children in Washington County. Often, when children I’ve worked with see me, they’ll excitedly recall something from our classes or proudly tell me they were a ‘brave taster’ who tried a new fruit or vegetable - phrases we used during our lessons. Moments like these are a true reflection of how the lessons we share continue to resonate.”
Healthy Acadia has managed this program locally for 12 years, providing nutrition education in schools, childcare facilities, community centers, food pantries, farmers' markets, and more, teaching people of all ages how to shop, cook, and eat healthfully on a budget. This program reached over 2,000 people annually across Hancock and Washington counties, impacting their eating habits, helping them save money on groceries, building confidence around cooking, and improving their overall health.
The program also supported policy, systems, and environmental change projects that made healthy food more accessible to people across many settings, including food pantries, farmers’ markets, school gardens, and more.
Nutrition education is a core component of public health.
Nutrition education is a core component of public health, contributing to the prevention of obesity, chronic disease, and management, as well as increased food and nutrition security, higher consumption of fruits and vegetables, and improved overall well-being. Maine has the highest rate of food insecurity in New England, with 1 in 4 children in Washington County and 1 in 5 children in Hancock County living in food-insecure households.
“What and how we choose to eat fuels us throughout our day, influencing our physical and mental well-being. ”
Food prices are rising faster than wages, and resources to support shopping, cooking, and eating healthy on a budget are more important now than ever. At the same time, federal nutrition assistance programs are being cut, making it even harder for Mainers to access healthy food.
The Maine SNAP-Ed program has been run locally with a $400,000 per year budget and a team of four Healthy Acadia staff - two Nutrition Educators in both Washington and Hancock counties. Healthy Acadia is committed to continuing to support opportunities for nutrition education across Downeast Maine, and they are looking to raise funds needed to offer these critical services in 2026 and beyond.
Help Us Continue Providing Nutrition Education in Our Communities.
“Our goal is to raise $200,000 to support nutrition education for the coming year [2026]. This will enable us to maintain our critical nutrition education infrastructure and reach communities broadly across the region with two full-time nutrition educators. Gifts from the community in any amount will help us continue to provide critical nutrition education services, and we will be able to tailor the programming to the funds received.”
“Our goal is to raise $200,000 to support nutrition education for the coming year. This will enable us to maintain our critical nutrition education infrastructure and reach communities broadly across the region with two full-time nutrition educators,” said Julian Kuffler, M.D., MPH, a Healthy Acadia Board Member. “Gifts from the community in any amount will help us continue to provide critical nutrition education services, and we will be able to tailor the programming to the funds received.”
“We are committed to doing everything we can to serve as many people as possible, from the youngest to the oldest, across our communities. We have seen the incredible impacts of this program over the years, and we know how devastating the loss of this programming would be for our communities,” shared Katie Freedman, Healthy Acadia Community Health and Food Programs Director.
“Maintaining even a small core of services will ensure that our systems, partnerships, and expertise are sustained, enabling us to ramp back up fully in the future if and when public funding is restored,” stated Art Blank, Healthy Acadia Board Vice-Chair.
To make a donation in support of this work, community members are invited to give online at bit.ly/HANutritionEdSupport, mail a check to Healthy Acadia, 77 Beechland Rd., Ellsworth, ME, 04605 (please include “Nutrition Education” in the memo line), or contact Shoshona Smith, Healthy Acadia’s Development Director, at shoshona@healthyacadia.org, or by calling 207-667-7171 to have a conversation.
To learn more about available nutrition education resources, please contact:
In Hancock County:
Email Christine Dentremont or call 207-667-7171
In Washington County:
Email Shannon Cherry, Andrea Coffin, or call 207-255-3741