USDA Blog

What does USDA have to do with supporting refugees? What do refugees contribute to our food systems here in the United States? The answers become clear when you look at a unique partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Refugee Agricultural Partnership Program (RAPP)...

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog: Summer Food Service Program – in the middle of winter? That question is a common one when we talk about the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). During the school year, many children receive free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch through the School...

As an employee of the Food & Nutrition Service, I see firsthand the war that is waged on hunger every single day. The number of families across the country that are food insecure is cause for concern, but we are working daily to reduce those numbers. And it’s working. Starting with generous...

Last night I had the privilege of attending President Obama’s State of the Union speech. In it, he laid out some of the challenges America faces moving forward as we compete with nations across the globe to win the future. The President’s vision is simple. We need to be a nation that makes, creates...

Most people who are interested in local food know that farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) are great ways to buy products from local farms and vendors. But are there other ways that local food moves from producers to consumers? It turns out that a great variety of food supply...

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) recently hosted “ Grant Opportunity: Enhancing the Competitiveness of Specialty Crops” (use Playback option to hear webinar), the seventh in a series of webinars designed to educate the general public about federal fruit and vegetable programs.

In what is revered as one of the country’s most famed speeches, newly-elected President John F. Kennedy stood in front of the nation and promised to bring change on a united front – “ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” These words have echoed from...

Cross posted from the Let's Move! Blog: I recently visited the Willie Mays Boys and Girls Club to find out from the children what participating in USDA's Summer Food Service Program means to them. Year-round, afternoons at the Club means the children get to cook a healthy bean and kale soup, with...

About this time last year, the city of Washington, DC was digging out from a record amount of snow. My colleagues at USDA’s Economic Research Service were communicating electronically to get a new web-based mapping tool – the Food Environment Atlas – up and running. This online tool, which measures...

We are very proud to announce former President Bill Clinton and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow will be the 2011 Agricultural Outlook Forum Plenary Session’s distinguished speakers. Their dedication to public service in the fields of nutrition and agriculture make them a welcome addition to this year’s...