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Portland, Maine

CEPH researchers publish multistate study on pandemic’s effects on SNAP-Ed programming

A brick building sits behind green grass and a large tree
The study examines COVID-19's impact on program implementation across five states.

Kira Rodriguez, M.H.S., and Pamela Bruno, M.P.H., senior research associates in the Center for Excellence in Public Health at the University of New England, have co-authored a multistate study on the impact of COVID-19 on the implementation of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education (SNAP-Ed) program. 

The article, titled “Impacts, Adaptations, and Preparedness Among SNAP-Ed Implementers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multistate Study,” published in the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, examines the pandemic’s impact on program implementation across five states: South Carolina, Rhode Island, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Maine. The authors surveyed and interviewed 181 SNAP-Ed nutrition educators, supervisors, and administrators to study the facilitators and barriers for adapting programming, uplifting the factors that would have helped with preparedness.

The authors of the multi-methods study are SNAP-Ed program evaluators in a national community of practice who convened to address gaps in understanding in how a prolonged, national emergency affects public health program implementation. Shared instrument design informed quantitative and qualitative data collection on the degree of pandemic impact on curriculum delivery; policy, systems, and environmental changes; external multisector partner relationships; and internal staff engagement. 

Positive and negative impacts surfaced in the data analysis, with direct delivery of nutrition education — typically delivered in person — commonly reported as most significantly impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. Pivoting to virtual delivery of programming was both helped and hindered by technology, the researchers found, with unanticipated challenges providing barriers in terms of capacity and training. Study participants shared lessons learned and flexibilities needed for adaptations that have policy implications that could enhance future emergency preparedness for SNAP-Ed and similar direct service and community-oriented public health programming.

Maine SNAP-Ed, implemented by UNE through a contract with Maine’s Office for Family Independence, addresses nutrition security and wellness in low-resource settings across the state. The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.) and is granted to over 160 agencies throughout the nation. Implementing agencies include universities, nonprofits, state health and agriculture departments, and Tribal entities.

Headshot of Kira Rodriguez

Kira Rodriguez, M.H.S.

Pam Bruno

Pamela Bruno, M.P.H.

Media Contact

Alan Bennett
Office of Communications
abennett11@une.edu

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.