As Four-Year Institutions Consider SNAP Employment and Training Programs, Two of Them Are Sharing Valuable Insight

Employment and Training as Bridges From Poverty to Prosperity

The core mission of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is to provide access to food for low-income people. In addition to addressing immediate needs resulting from poverty, the program includes resources to help people progress toward prosperity. An example of this complementary support is the SNAP Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) program, which connects beneficiaries to work experience and training.

As underscored in CAEL’s ALLIES framework for supporting institutional improvements, wraparound services are a key component of building institutional capacity to support adult learners. In October 2022, CAEL launched the SNAP Employment and Training Technical Assistance (SNAP E&T TA) project to strengthen postsecondary institutions’ capacity to support students that use SNAP benefits. By expanding and implementing SNAP E&T programs, this technical assistance, funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, is enhancing schools’ abilities to provide the wraparound support, education, and training that improve lower-income students’ access to opportunity and boost broader economic mobility.

At no cost to participants, experts from CAEL and SNAP E&T TA partner organizations, including Seattle Jobs Initiative (SJI), American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), and Grant Associates, provide one-on-one technical assistance covering all functions needed for postsecondary education institutions to be successful SNAP E&T partners. Key activities and topics during the half-year cohorts include:

• Implementation, planning, and execution workshops.
• Capacity-building strategy sessions.
• Regional conferences.
• Building and fostering holistic collaboration among institutions, workforce development boards, employers, and workforce and human service providers. 
• Building effective and inclusive education-employment partnerships.
• Student engagement and enrollment strategies.
• Complying with federal funding guidelines.

As an additional benefit, the SNAP E&T TA project delivers these benefits through the collaborative environment of CAEL’s Academy model, which fosters continual engagement that advances best practices and identifies emerging solutions. 

Scaling the Impact of SNAP E&T: Promising Applications for Four-Year Institutions

SNAP E&T TA’s community-college focus leverages longstanding synergies connecting two-year institutions and populations of learners who may be utilizing benefits like SNAP. These include open-access educational programs, a tradition of welcoming adult and other traditionally underserved learners, and workforce-oriented curricula that are often well aligned with SNAP E&T-eligible programs coordinated through entities such as workforce boards, departments of labor, and departments of health and human services. 

However, as four-year institutions embrace more workforce-oriented programs and diversify enrollment, more are considering incorporating SNAP E&T among their student support resources. CAEL’s latest research report profiles two four-year institutions exploring implementing SNAP E&T: Lakeland University and Butler University, both SNAP E&T TA participants. 

Butler University, which is launching Founder’s College this fall to improve access to quality associate degree programs for historically underrepresented learners, is exploring implementing a SNAP E&T program to bolster its support of adult learners. For example, SNAP E&T could strengthen student support services by extending financial and career resources, bridging gaps that traditional financial aid and scholarships may not fully cover.

Lakeland University is in the process of completing internal approval for a SNAP E&T program and collaborating with the state of Wisconsin as it works through the proposal phase of the program. The university sees SNAP E&T as an opportunity to support student success, including long-term economic mobility and opportunity for learners and their families. 

Each case study examines the universities’ approaches to implementing SNAP E&T, the challenges they have confronted, and the key principles that are guiding them in their exploration of SNAP E&T opportunities. Informed by this insight, the report concludes with recommendations that can help other four-year institutions adopt or expand a SNAP E&T program tailored to the success of their own students. 

Download the full report here.

SNAP E&T TA has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.