WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) today announced that it is the recipient of an FY 2022 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment & Training (E&T) National Partnership Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). Seattle Jobs Initiative (SJI) and American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) will join ACCT as partners on this three-year, $1.56 million award.
This competitive grant was specifically designed for networks or consortia of community colleges, and it provides ACCT with the opportunity to expand its work in the SNAP E&T service area. ACCT is currently a sub-awardee on an FNS National Partnership SNAP E&T Grant to APHSA.
For this new grant, ACCT and partners will target increasing the number of community colleges that serve as SNAP E&T third-party providers with a specific focus on state systems and rural communities along with broad dissemination of lessons learned. SJI will join ACCT in providing technical assistance to campuses, and APHSA will bring their unique experience with and access to state health and human service agencies.
Community colleges are a natural fit as SNAP E&T third-party providers given the goal for SNAP recipients to receive education and support that will allow them to obtain employment and build their careers moving forward. ACCT will select two cohorts each of state systems and rural community colleges to participate. By focusing on state systems, this project will leverage a train-the-trainer model to bring multiple sites for SNAP E&T programs at community colleges into operation at once. And by focusing on rural community colleges, more SNAP E&T programs will become available in high-needs communities.
Throughout the three-year project, ACCT and partners will focus on disseminating lessons learned through web resources, toolkits, and a white paper brief. Additionally, ACCT will host an annual convening each year to provide an overview and guide for community colleges so that any interested will have an avenue to do so.
“ACCT is excited to expand our work supporting community colleges as third-party SNAP E&T providers,” said ACCT Board of Directors Chair James Cooksey, a trustee from Moberly Area Community College in Missouri. “Food insecurity has continued to grow over the past two years and efforts are necessary to provide additional support for individuals with this experience to access education and training opportunities. Targeting the development of new SNAP E&T third-party sites on community college campuses creates additional avenues for those opportunities.”
“In light of growing community needs and decreased higher education participation, our colleges are looking for new and expanded ways to serve their communities,” said ACCT President and CEO Jee Hang Lee. “The SNAP E&T program is an opportunity to serve those with food insecurity in their communities while also expanding access to education and training on campuses. By focusing on state systems, which know their states best, and on rural community colleges, this approach will help bring SNAP E&T programs to places with the highest need.”
“This grant leverages ACCT’s role as an intermediary between Washington and colleges, which is one of the primary goals of the ACCT Center for Policy and Practice,” said ACCT Vice President-Public Policy Carrie Warick-Smith. This grant is the first received since, in June 2022, ACCT President and CEO Jee Hang Lee launched the Center for Policy and Practice, where it will be housed.
About ACCT
The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) is a non-profit educational organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern over 1,200 community, technical, and junior colleges in the United States and beyond.
About APHSA
The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) is a bipartisan, nonprofit membership organization representing state and local health and human services agencies through their top-level leadership. Through a member network and three national Collaborative Centers, APHSA seeks to influence modern policies and practices that support the health and well-being of all children and families and that lead to stronger communities. To learn more about APHSA, please visit www.acct.org.
About Seattle Jobs Initiative
Seattle Jobs Initiative (SJI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, creates opportunities for people to support themselves and their families through living-wage careers. For more than two decades, SJI has combined direct programmatic services with strategies to spur broader systems and policy change to dramatically increase the number of low-income, low-skill individuals who access and complete skills training leading to college credentials and well-paying jobs in growing industry sectors. To learn more about SJI, please visit www.seattlejobsinitiative.com.