USDA Blog

On Monday, Secretary Vilsack was in Zanesville, Ohio for a Rural Tour town hall focusing on green jobs and a new energy economy. After the forum, the Secretary visited Maple Terrace, a public housing facility for low-income senior citizens. He led an interfaith service event highlighting President...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today met with local officials and community residents in Louisa, Va., and highlighted a Recovery Act project that was announced on the 100th day of the Recovery Act. As a result of a $3.3 loan through USDA Rural Development, the community of Louisa will expand...

Last Friday marked the final collection day for the Feds Feed Families, a government-wide summer food drive led by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Typically, summer is the slowest time for food bank donations, but the needs of hungry people stay the same throughout the year. Therefore, OPM...

Secretary Vilsack meets with business owners and United Farm Workers Today, Secretary Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Merrigan met with leaders and members of the United Farm Workers at Monterey Mushroom, a company located on the edge of California’s Silicon Valley. The roundtable discussion involving...

When I visited Washington, I met the Secretary of Agriculture who comes from the great farming state of Iowa and he knew that we were going to begin this project. In fact, the idea for this project was inspired by the First Lady’s work with Washington, D.C. students who’ve always lived in the city...

When I received an email from US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack regarding the President and first Lady’s summer of service initiative, United We Serve, I thought, “Oh no, now what?” As I read about the goals of the program, I wasn’t sure if I would have either the time or the energy...

The first community garden in the newest city in the United States, founded in 2008, celebrated its grand opening during National Community Gardening Week.

Community gardens are unique microcosms where people can learn about the science behind growing plants and provide an environment that cultivates social responsibility.

This week is National Community Gardening Week and USDA encourages you to do you part and connect with your community through gardening.

Today in the People's Garden, USDA volunteers hosted another Healthy Garden Workshop -- and visitors were once again able to sample a dish created entirely from garden-grown foods in the Chef's Garden. The events will continue all summer here in Washington, but you can also check out some video from...