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Redefine Alliance, in partnership with Seattle Jobs Initiative (SJI) and Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), is proud to announce the completion of the 2026 SNAP Employment & Training Technical Assistance Cohort, a seven-month initiative supporting employment-focused organizations across the Appalachian Region.
SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps), is a federally run grocery assistance program. SNAP also operates SNAP Employment and Training (SNAP E&T), designed to help people on SNAP to get and keep jobs. Organizations across the country can apply to become SNAP E&T providers in their state.
A total of seven Appalachian-headquartered organizations completed training through this cohort.
2026 SNAP E&T TA Cohort
- 12 Live Staffing (Salem, VA)
- Collins Career Technical Center (Chesapeake, OH)
- Eastern Action (Petersburg, WV)
- Fair Chance Works (London, KY)
- High Rocks Educational Corporation (Hillsboro, WV)
- Pollen8 (South Charleston, WV)
- Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) (Pikeville, KY)
Through monthly training and individualized technical assistance, organizations assessed how their existing workforce programs align with SNAP E&T, built federal, state and local partnerships, and developed pathways toward becoming SNAP E&T providers.
“What we saw over these seven months was organizations moving from awareness to action, recognizing how their existing services align with SNAP E&T, addressing barriers that hold their employees back from growing economic power, strengthening partnerships, and developing concrete pathways toward implementation,” said Samantha Poster, senior manager of government partnerships and policy at Redefine.
For several cohort member organizations, this training has already turned into action.
High Rocks Educational Corporation entered the cohort with a general understanding of SNAP E&T; the organization has since been accepted to become an E&T provider beginning October 1, 2026.
Participation in the cohort also helped SOAR’s participating leaders to recognize how closely their existing services already align with SNAP E&T. “We assumed our organization would not qualify for SNAP E&T. However, we learned that many of the services we already provide align well with the SNAP E&T program,” shared the SOAR team.
Redefine Alliance is advancing workforce initiatives based in the Appalachian region, focused on strengthening pathways to quality jobs, advancing economic power for workers, and providing access to capital for inclusive and supportive employers. The Appalachian cohort grew out of Redefine Alliance’s Government Partnerships for a Strong Workforce convening, cohosted by Coalfield Development in Huntington, West Virginia, in February 2026. Redefine, SJI, and CEO extend special thanks to Coalfield, a long-time SNAP E&T provider themselves, for helping catalyze the cohort, supporting its development, and sharing their expertise.
The initiative is part of a national collaboration between Redefine, SJI, and CEO, which aims to help organizations all across the country to develop and strengthen SNAP E&T third-party partnerships and unlock sustainable public funding to expand workforce services for people receiving SNAP. Since our first partnership grant in 2020, Redefine Alliance has helped employment social enterprises and other inclusive employers to unlock over $10 million in SNAP E&T funding; these resources create sustainable revenue streams that can scale alongside organizations’ programs and impact.
“The most recent Redefine SNAP E&T cohort in Appalachia opened opportunities for organizations that are doing the work but had no real connection to SNAP E&T. This cohort supports organizations with deep connections to their communities that now have the opportunity to expand those investments,” said Andrew Schramm, senior consultant at SJI.
Funding for this project was provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
