Nutrition Security

My name is Paul Birkbeck, and I have worked with SNAP for 26 years and have been honored to chair Utah's State Nutrition Action Coalition (SNAC) for the past eight years. Throughout the United States, SNACs are an innovative, collaborative strategy to improve community health through partnerships. I am in awe of the passion and dedication of our nutrition partners in Utah.

As any parent can attest, the ability to get nutritious food on the table fast is key. But when you’re cooking for not just your family but a whole school – efficiency is everything.

On May 9, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services (FNCS) partnered to celebrate a step forward in streamlining access to crucial government programs.

School meals are foundational to the health and nutrition for millions of our nation’s children.

The Food and Nutrition Service’s Turnip the Beet awards recognize outstanding summer meal program sponsors for going above and beyond, ensuring children receive high quality meals in a fun, safe and healthy learning environment when school is out. These nutritious meals help keep children healthy all summer and ready to learn when school resumes.

When applying an equity lens to nutrition programs, it is essential for policymakers to orient themselves toward the perspective of all communities they serve. We must actively take the time to see and listen to truly understand historical inequities that exist, so that we may be better positioned to address them.

The Food and Nutrition Service’s Mid-Atlantic Region recently joined forces with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture to recognize Programs for Parents, a Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) sponsor in Essex County, NJ, with a regional CACFP Achievement Award for their creative and dedicated efforts to promote nutrition security among children. Their program emphasizes meal quality, nutrition education, and the overall wellness of its childcare providers, children and parents/caregivers.

I’m Dr. Wayne M. Detmer, and I work at Lawndale Christian Health Center (LCHC) on Chicago’s west side. Like many neighborhoods around the country, our community members experience significant disparities in health outcomes. We’ve grown in our recognition that excellence in the exam room has its limits, and that to see real change, we need to think outside of exam room walls.

When enrolling moms into the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children, better known as WIC, less than 30% of state agencies in Connecticut were asking for the father’s name. We don't encourage dads to step up and then we wonder why they don't show up.

It’s an honor to serve as USDA’s first director of nutrition security and health equity at the Food and Nutrition Service. In this role I have the privilege of working to ensure all Americans have consistent access to safe, healthy, and affordable foods essential to optimal health and well-being.