Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits provide vital assistance to millions of people every year who struggle with food insecurity. The SNAP Employment and Training program (SNAP E&T) is the workforce development component of SNAP, which funds education, job training and wraparound services for people receiving SNAP benefits.
SNAP E&T is a complicated program, often requiring close coordination across the federal government, state agencies, intermediary organizations, and community-based organizations. Thus, implementing SNAP E&T comes with a real risk of people falling through the cracks, making collaboration, communication and community-driven problem-solving critical to success.
On Monday, September 8, 2025, the Economic Mobility team at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) convened current third-party providers (TPP), intermediary organizations and state agency representatives for a day of collaboration and peer-to-peer learning about the SNAP E&T program in Tennessee.
The convening fits into an expanding body of work in NCRC’s economic mobility portfolio focused on providing learning opportunities about SNAP E&T to community-based organizations. This article will offer some initial insights for other national organizations considering state-based approaches as well as general takeaways about SNAP E&T for nonprofits, small businesses, community colleges and other community-based organizations in the workforce development ecosystem.
Why A State-Based Approach?
NCRC’s decision to focus exclusively on Tennessee-based stakeholders was a conscious choice. Although SNAP E&T is a federal program with some uniform baseline requirements, every state interprets the regulations and guidance provided differently. This means that TPPs from different states may experience similar challenges but require distinct solutions.
By limiting participation to Tennessee’s SNAP E&T network, the convening enabled:
- Discussions centered on challenges and solutions applicable to everyone
- Immediate collaboration on shared initiatives
- Conversations addressing Tennessee’s specific regulatory environment and procedures
NCRC’s main objective was fostering stronger relationships among providers as well as between the TPPs, the state intermediary (United Way of Greater Nashville) and the state agency (the Tennessee Department of Labor). The desired impact was clearer communication channels between them resulting in stronger career outcomes for SNAP E&T program participants.
Creating a Productive Environment
Even when they have positive working relationships with one another, there are inherent tensions and power imbalances between TPPs, state agencies and intermediaries. Bringing parties into the same room is an opportunity to clear the air, but conversations can quickly derail unless they are designed with these dynamics in mind.
NCRC’s approach involved several key design elements in aiming to do just that:
Addressing Power Dynamics
Effective convenings require acknowledgment of inherent power dynamics between different stakeholders. State agencies hold significant authority over reimbursement decisions and program compliance, while TPPs depend on these agencies for funding and operational guidance.
To address this, NCRC dedicated time for TPPs and United Way to discuss their experiences working with the state without them in the room. This allowed everyone to more candidly share their challenges and identify opportunities to work together on addressing them. Furthermore, scheduling this activity at the start of the day encouraged TPPs to release their frustrations before the state staff participating in subsequent conversations arrived in the room, opening the door for more productive dialogue throughout the rest of the day.
Leveraging Intermediaries as Bridges
In states like Tennessee where an intermediary organization manages third-party partnerships, intermediaries are natural bridges between state agencies and TPPs because they have close relationships with TPPs but also maintain a deep understanding of state requirements. This dynamic led United Way of Greater Nashville to play a crucial role in setting the tone for the conversation by emphasizing the importance of honest feedback and speaking hard truths. While this kind of norm-setting can be done by the convener, we found United Way’s voice carried far greater weight with TPPs.
Prioritizing Relationship Building
Lastly, rather than filling every minute with formal presentations, the agenda intentionally included breaks and unstructured networking time. While conveners often feel pressure to maximize content delivery, relationships—the convening’s primary objective—develop through informal interactions as much as through structured sessions. This is especially true when kickstarting a new peer-learning community.
Looking Forward
NCRC’s SNAP E&T convening in Tennessee demonstrates that thoughtfully designed, state-specific gatherings can strengthen workforce development networks and improve service delivery for SNAP recipients. Acknowledging power dynamics, prioritizing fellowship and leveraging United Way’s role as an intermediary created the conditions for productive dialogue and strong relationships. As a result, the Tennessee-based stakeholders set the stage for more effective problem-solving in the future.
For community-based organizations, the event highlighted both the opportunities and complexities of SNAP E&T participation. Success requires not only programmatic expertise but also skill in navigating multi-layered relationships with intermediaries, state agencies and peer providers. The challenges do not end with understanding how to get involved with SNAP E&T, applying for third-party partnership or even onboarding as a provider. Participating in SNAP E&T requires commitment to ongoing advocacy and collaboration with peers to improve the workforce development system.
As NCRC continues expanding its SNAP E&T learning opportunities, the Tennessee model provides a framework for supporting state-level workforce development networks to advance economic mobility for SNAP recipients nationwide, even at a time of significant change for food assistance programs.
Simon Wang is the Economic Mobility Project Specialist with NCRC’s National Training Academy team.
Photo description: Training participants mid-session during NCRC’s Nashville Summit SNAP E&T convening.
