ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Trump budget, just approved by his Republican Congress, has forced the University Minnesota’s rural outreach program to lay off 60 nutritionists. The layoffs include a team of six Rochester-based nutrition educators assigned to southeast counties, including Fillmore, Houston Wabasha and Winona. The regional director, Susan Draves, told KTTC the layoffs leave a gap in vital services:
“We can do things that, for example, public health can’t do. We are on the ground, our teams are on the ground, boots on the ground, oftentimes speaking multiple languages. So, bringing a cultural approach, if needed, to our students in schools, or out in the community teaching nutrition education.”
The outreach roject has been run by the University of Minnesota Extension Service as part of the federal-state SNAP food stamp program. For 35 years, the nutritionists have offered lessons to SNAP recipients on how to budget for groceries, cook healthy meals, grow a garden, and stay physically healthy. On average, Dravie said, SNAP recipients receive $6 per person per day for meals. Statewide 57,000 people have been served in the past year.
Earlier: How they voted: Trump budget /7
Earlier: How they voted: Trump budget /6