SNAP-Ed supports markets, healthy lifestyles for low-income Pennsylvanians

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Across the nation, people with lower incomes are less likely than other people to consume fresh fruits and vegetables for a range of reasons including cost, access to the produce and unfamiliarity with the foods. Meanwhile, many family farms struggle to get their food in front of consumers because participating in a farmers market or running a produce stand requires time and staff — both of which farmers say are hard to come by.

Across the commonwealth, funding from the Pennsylvania Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (PA SNAP-Ed) — managed by staff in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development’s Department of Nutritional Sciences — enables 22 partner agencies to create local solutions to problems related to the health and diet of low-income Pennsylvanians.

One of those solutions can be found in Western Pennsylvania, where Adagio Health SNAP-Ed staff facilitate pop-up farmer’s markets featuring local, farm-fresh produce in medical offices, clinics and senior centers across 14 counties. These farmers markets grant Pennsylvanians better access to healthy, fresh food while generating additional revenue for regional farmers.

Improving health choices and helping farmers

“We’ve gotten some really nice feedback from participants of the program that they’ve been able to try new fruits and vegetables,” said Robyn Dillner of Dillner Family Farms in Gibsonia, a participating farm. “The farmers market program has also been great for us. It allows us to reach areas throughout Pittsburgh that we do not have the ability to get to due to staffing and time constraints. Working with Adagio Health has really been huge for us; it’s allowed us to get our produce out into areas that we haven’t been able to get to before.”

It can be difficult for people — especially those with lower incomes — to find the time and transportation needed to access the farm products, according to Ruth Bender, director of SNAP-Education for Adagio Heath. Childcare, time off work, advanced age or lack of transportation often limit both access to fresh food and the ability to cook it, making lower-quality, pre-packaged foods an easier option.

The farmers market program bridges the gap between farms and consumers, and it appears to be popular with both customers and farmers, according to feedback that Adagio Health has received. 

In 2024, the SNAP-Ed funding enabled 367 market events that provided revenue for 23 Pennsylvania farmers.

“My kids love their fruits, and the [programs] help stretch our fruits and veggie value during the nicer months,” one market customer said.

The locations of the markets are selected to serve specific clienteles. For example, markets in Pennsylvania Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) offices are designed to benefit pregnant women, young mothers and their children. Markets in senior centers, on the other hand, are designed to benefit older Pennsylvanians. But anyone can shop at any market. 

 “This is great because a senior center is down the road from me, and I could take the stroller there which makes shopping with my toddler easier,” one young mother said.

Healthy nutrition beyond the farmers markets

Adagio Health also offers SNAP-Ed-funded nutrition education in preschools, elementary schools and high schools; nutritional and recipe information at food banks; and many cooking classes so that people have the skills needed to prepare healthy food options.

“We offer programs for low-income residents across the lifespan — from WIC to senior centers — and SNAP-Ed funding makes much of that work possible,” said Britney Zwergel, vice president of nutrition and education programs at Adagio Health. “But SNAP-Ed funds often function as the seed money to start a program. The goal for many of our programs is self-sustainability.”

A self-sustaining way to address food insecurity

People who do not have a reliable source of food and wonder where future meals will come from are said to experience food insecurity. People experiencing food insecurity may suffer from hunger, or they may have to make choices like purchasing either medicine or food. With or without hunger, food insecurity has been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, depression and other health problems, making it an important influence on people’s overall health, according to prior studies by researchers at Penn State.

In 2018, WIC and medical offices in Indiana County used SNAP-Ed funding to begin screening all patients at the clinic for food insecurity. People experiencing food insecurity were offered access to an onsite food pantry. After their visit, people were connected to local food banks or other resources to alleviate their food insecurity.

The food-insecurity screening program has since spread to five WIC offices and multiple medical offices. Adagio Health created the program using SNAP-Ed funding, but now the screenings and referrals occur without any money from SNAP-Ed.

“This is a great example of how SNAP-Ed can bring stakeholders together to make a change and then recede once it is no longer needed,” Zwergel said. “SNAP-Ed projects are not forever, but these funds enable us to improve systems to support healthy living. Once the change is made, we can address the next problem so that no project needs SNAP-Ed funds forever.”

Establishing the SNAP-Ed-funded farmers markets requires a great deal of research and coordination, according to Bender, but she said the program may be able to move toward becoming self-sustaining in the next few years.

SNAP-Ed in the future? 

The federal funding bill that passed the House of Representatives and is currently being debated in the Senate would eliminate funding for SNAP-Ed. Bender and Zwergel said the program has historically enjoyed broad bipartisan support, and that it provides real value.

“SNAP-Ed is one of the most effective tools we have to connect food, health and community resilience,” said BJ Leber, president and chief executive officer of Adagio Health. “Its potential loss would be felt far beyond any one classroom or community. The ripple effect would be profound — especially in rural areas and other communities where access to resources is limited.”

Christine Brennan, PA SNAP-Ed project director in the Penn State Department of Nutritional Sciences, has monitored the positive impacts of SNAP-Ed supported programs for years.

“Across the nation, SNAP-Ed helps people by making the healthy choice the easy choice,” Brennan said. “Since a healthful diet is the cornerstone to a healthy lifestyle, the program just makes sense. PA SNAP-Ed touches the lives of hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who live with limited resources, building their knowledge and skills to select and prepare nutritious foods. And as the farmers market and food-insecurity screening examples demonstrate, SNAP-Ed helps people improve their lives in real, sustainable ways."