March 2022

Cesar Chavez Day allows us to recommit ourselves to honoring farmworkers and their many indispensable contributions to our nation.

As National Nutrition Month comes to an end, remember that healthy eating is a year-round endeavor. Nutrition.gov is here to help you continue celebrating with your favorite healthy foods and traditions! Explore these simple ideas for adding nutritious and cultural foods into your eating routine.

Lead is a naturally occurring heavy metal found in the soil, water, and air. It is also a toxic substance that can affect brain and kidney function and pregnancy outcomes. Robust international food safety standards help all nations to reduce toxic lead exposure. In 2021, the U.S. Codex Office (USCO) worked with the international food standards setting body (Codex Alimentarius) to develop science-based food standards. One area they focused on was reducing lead contamination in food.

The National School Lunch Program provides nutritious meals to about 30 million children daily in the U.S. Such success would not have been possible without the early efforts and continuing contributions of women. For over a century, women have led the way in starting programs that provide healthy foods to children from underserved communities. And what started as local efforts have grown into staple, federal programs.

During his first visit as Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, Dr. Homer Wilkes announced additional funding to combat wildfire in Nevada and California.

It’s Women’s History Month and I am proud to work alongside so many great women leaders at USDA.

The Center for Rural Enterprise Engagement, with funding by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant program, conducted a study on “Lessons from COVID-19: Positioning Regional Food Supply Chains for Future Pandemics, Natural Disasters and Human-made Crises.”

As Deputy Under Secretaries, it’s not every day that we get to don aprons and make chicken enchiladas as part of our work. But during a visit to Tyler Elementary School in Virginia’s Prince William County to celebrate National Nutrition Month, that’s exactly what we did!

USDA has always worked to ensure all Americans have adequate access to food. Now, the time has come for deeper conversation about nutrition security – the consistent access to safe, healthy, affordable food essential to optimal health and well-being, regardless of race, ethnicity, or background. Nutrition security efforts work together with promoting food security, ensuring that everyone not only has enough to eat, and that those calories contribute to their overall health.