USDA Blog

Submitted by Mark Gideon, USDA Rural Development Single Family Housing Specialist USDA Rural Development State Director Tony Logan, more than 40 volunteers from local community organizations, and USDA Rural Development staff came together last month for a self-help housing volunteer work day to...

Story by Gayle Hoskison, Olympia Area Director, Washington State USDA Rural Development Becoming a homeowner for the first time is a big deal, especially for Brittany Meyer, who received the keys to her new home last month during a special ceremony, and up until that one moment in time, never...

Written by: Amy Mund USDA Public Information Coordinator, Colorado Working with local community faith based organizations has provided the Rural Development Office in Alamosa, CO with a substantial increase in single family home loan applications. Taking the approach to leave no stone unturned Ty...

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA's rich science and research portfolio. By Avtar Handa, Purdue University I don’t know about you, but I find it frustrating to go into the grocery store looking...

By US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Yesterday, I had the opportunity to testify before the House Committee on Education and Labor on the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act. Every five years, Congress considers improvements to the Child Nutrition Act, which provides...

By Lori Duff, USDA Public Affairs Specialist New Hampshire The town of Peterborough, New Hampshire has been working diligently to upgrade its wastewater treatment facility for the town’s 6,222 residents since 2000 – when they learned that Environmental Protection Agency requirements for treatment...

Written by Dawn Knepp, Pennsylvania USDA Public Information Officer In a small, quaint housing development in south-central Pennsylvania, families are realizing the American dream of homeownership with the help of a unique government program. USDA Rural Development’s Self-Help Housing Program...

By Jackie Haven, Director, Nutrition Marketing and Communication Division, USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion The Apps for Healthy Kids submission period has officially come to a close yesterday and there was a flurry of entries submitted the last few days and hours! All submissions...

Written by USDA Public Relations Intern Megan Harrison In celebration of June as National Homeownership Month, I had the privilege of travelling all over the state of Illinois (from Freeport in northern Illinois to 400 miles south in Carterville, and a few places in between) with Illinois Rural...

Written by Ana Placencia, Area Specialist, Uvalde Sub-Area Office; and Gayle Cargo, Texas USDA Public Information Coordinator Last month in the south Texas community of Uvalde, Texas State Director Paco Valentin witnessed how USDA Rural Development and the Self Help Housing Program can touch the...