August 2014

Plants provide us with many things that we use on a daily basis – from the buildings in which we live and work, to our clothing and food. For flowering plants to thrive and reproduce, they often rely on pollinators to transport pollen between flowers.

Pollination ultimately results in fruits and seeds, ranging from the strawberries and almonds in your breakfast to the tomatoes in your pasta sauce. While scientists know a lot about honeybees, very little is known about many other pollinators – bats, birds, bees, butterflies, moths, flies, etc. – that are essential to pollinating wildflowers and native plants.

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 USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

Most of us were reminded every night to eat the veggies on our childhood dinner plates.  And for good reason, too.  Veggies are packed with the nutrients that are essential to good health and, as you may already know, greens are nutritional powerhouses.  Dark, leafy greens are full of antioxidants like vitamin A, C and E, as well as B vitamins, calcium, iron, protein, fiber and even essential fatty acids. But not everyone is able to adorn their plates with these “edible emeralds.” That’s where a group of federal employees stepped in.

Teaching people about soil conservation is one of our top goals at the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and fortunately, we have a special helper.

Sammy Soil, everyone’s favorite little clump of earth, has managed to capture the public’s attention for more than 40 years. The little dirt clod, as he is sometimes called, was birthed through rock particles, water, air, leaves and the artistic mind of long-time employee Ernest “Howard” Whitaker.

Sammy Soil started as a water color drawing by Whitaker, who worked as a NRCS district conservationist in Tennessee.

Standing next to her healthy oxen, Grace Opono explains how new conservation techniques have doubled her maize yield over just two seasons. She is also earning a second income by providing tilling services to neighbors with her oxen. She tells me she can now afford to pay the school fees for her children and reinvest money in her land.  This story of achievement shows that USDA’s Food for Progress Program is making a difference.

On a recent trip to Uganda, I saw first-hand the difference USDA-funded projects are making in people’s lives. The Food for Progress Program, administered by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, helps developing countries and emerging democracies introduce and expand free enterprise in the agricultural sector. U.S. agricultural commodities donated to recipient countries are sold on the local market and the proceeds are used to support agricultural, economic or infrastructure development programs administered by government agencies and private volunteer organizations (PVOs).

At USDA, we value the work of the many partners who administer and support our diverse and far-reaching nutrition assistance programs.  In my hometown of Chicago, an inspiring group has been meeting year-after-year to ensure that child hunger in the metropolitan area and beyond is eliminated. In this post, Illinois Hunger Coalition’s Diane Doherty explains the important work this group performs.

By Diane Doherty, Executive Director, Illinois Hunger Coalition

On a perfect summer day in June, the Illinois Hunger Coalition joined the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Catholic Charities of Chicago, the Illinois State Board of Education and other members of the Chicago Summer Food Work Group for its annual summer meals kick-off event. The event, which is part of the work group’s efforts to raise awareness and increase participation in the summer meal programs, was held this year at Armour Square Park on Chicago’s South Side.

Stop! Don’t throw that food away! It might be safe to use, and that will save you money. According to USDA’s Economic Research Service, each American wastes more than 20 pounds of food every month. That’s about $115 billion worth of good food thrown away every year at the consumer level in the U.S. Top food group wasted by value is meat, poultry and fish.

While the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline would never advise you to eat unsafe food, we don’t want you to throw away safe food and lose money.

Inner city youth helped protect an ancient forest wilderness in the Siuslaw National Forest by spending a day removing invasive tansy ragwort.

High school students from the Inner City Youth Institute  in Portland, Oregon, arrived in the Drift Creek Wilderness near the Alsea River, where Douglas fir and western hemlock make up the largest stand of old-growth rainforest in the Oregon Coast Range.

“We love coming to the Siuslaw,” said institute group leader, Stacey Sowders. “We love this chance to do meaningful work and meet people who are so passionate about what they do.”

Interns at USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) bring new energy and insight to the workplace. Plus, internships equip students with real-world skills that will help them in their future careers.

Interns this summer had an opportunity to work in a variety of fields, including data analysis, accounting and staffing – all important facets of the nation’s private lands conservation agency.

Meet Cindy Lee, who worked as a management analyst intern in NRCS’ Office of Regional Conservationists. Lee is a recent graduate of the University of California, Irvine, where she studied political science and social policy.

Today, USDA released its annual Expenditures on Children by Families report, also known as the “Cost of Raising a Child,” showing that a middle-income family with a child born in 2013 can expect to spend about $245,340 ($304,480 adjusted for projected inflation^*) for food, housing, childcare and education, and other child-rearing expenses up to age 18. The costs by location are lower in the urban South ($230,610) and rural ($193,590) regions of the country. Families in the urban Northeast incurred the highest costs to raise a child ($282,480).

Do you have a small business and want to do business with USDA?  If so, you need to consider attending an upcoming event in Louisiana.

In support of the Obama Administration’s efforts to put Americans back to work and create an economy built to last, the USDA Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization will host Rural Small Business Connections, a training event to provide small businesses with educational networking sessions and opportunities on how to successfully do business with the Agriculture Department and other Federal agencies.