food and nutrition

Last month I spoke to food bank leaders at the Feeding America Central Region conference, which was held in Baton Rouge, La., and hosted by the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. Attendees came from over 20 states to strategize about meeting the challenges of these tough economic times. Feeding America’s food banks help supply thousands of food pantries and emergency food sites across the U.S. and are among the many charitable organizations working hard to figure out ways to deal with decreased donations and a higher demand for food.

I told the group that it’s important that they continue to get the word out to food bank clients that USDA nutrition assistance is available to folks who meet the eligibility standards. Programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women Infants and Children program (WIC) still provide critical aid to individuals and families that may experience food insecurity. I also reminded them to encourage parents in their communities to enroll their children in school lunch and breakfast. School meals help ease the burden on families to provide three meals a day to the children in their households.

As a federal employee for USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, it is part of my job to know the many faces of hunger. People in need can come from all backgrounds, ages, locations, and walks of life. They are children. They are senior citizens. They are even those who are newly unemployed during our nation’s economic downturn. I knew all of this. But what caught me off guard was the fact that many are also our nation’s veterans.

Looking to help USDA fight hunger and obesity? The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has launched a new webpage just for you! The “Get Involved” webpage is full of tools your organization can use to improve outreach efforts for food help programs like SNAP, Summer Food, CACFP At-Risk Afterschool Meals, and more. When you visit our site you’ll discover how your organization, or even you as an individual, can dive into FNS outreach.

Visitors to the page are greeted by a section across the top of the page that says, “Start Here - If you are new to FNS, click here to learn how to... serve meals, get funding, end hunger, provide nutrition ed., join webinars, and much more.” This page offers information for organizations that want to get started and have done limited or no outreach with FNS in the past. It connects them with an overview of FNS food help programs, and it gets them to resources they need to start a meal or outreach program from scratch.

In business, location means everything. Not only do businesses need to understand where their customer base exists, but they also need to know where their competitors are.  The same applies to farmers markets: they must understand their customers and competition to determine the potential for profit. The location of a farmers market can influence a vendor or customer’s decision to support a particular market.

How does one turn a cold, miserable rainy day in late October into one as bright and warm as a sunny day in June?  Just visit a local elementary school where students and teachers and community volunteers are all so excited about the bountiful garden out back behind the school.  A magical place where young minds learn about growing healthy foods, about earthworms and soil, about cover crops and harvesting, about composting and frost dates, and about how tasty that strange looking vegetable with the funny name is . . . the one they started to grow from seedlings last school year.

“The Ryan Express” Delivers the Goods

Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan pitched 27 years in the big leagues, tossing a league record seven no-hitters.

In that span Ryan was comfortably pumping 100 mile-per-hour fastballs past hitters until he was 40 years old, registering 95 mph on the radar gun until retirement. Nicknamed “The Ryan Express” for his baseball exploits, he went on to become a successful business owner.

Nearly two dozen of our Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) inspectors received the prestigious Colonel Rohland A. Isker Award for support of military food operations today.  I am tremendously proud of each of them, and tremendously proud of the vital role they play in ensuring that every soldier, sailor, airman, and Marine who opens a meal during battle conditions can rely on it to taste good, be nutritious, and provide the energy he or she needs.

Recently I was in Des Moines, Iowa, to participate in events leading up to World Food Day. This day is observed each October 16th in recognition of the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945. The first World Food Day was held in 1981. Its purpose is to increase worldwide awareness and year-round action to alleviate hunger.

On October 10, I had the honor of speaking to a large group of people at Iowa State University about the importance of the world producing enough food to feed its growing population. This is not just a moral issue, or an economic issue, or an agricultural issue. It is an issue of national security.

When you consider the challenges we face today—925 million people around the world were undernourished last year—and those we foresee in 30 to 40 years—a world population growing by one-third to more than 9 billion that will require a 70-percent increase in food production—you understand why the United States and the international community must tackle this serious, long-term threat.

At the 2011 Hispanic Heritage Food Fiesta, Shirley Brown was named this year’s “Chili Champion.” Reigning champion Randolph Wilkinson will pass on the famous sterling silver chili bowl trophy, which is annually engraved to display the victor of each year’s challenge. As a chili connoisseur, Shirley Brown was ecstatic when announced as winner. She understands that the US Department of Agriculture takes chili seriously.

Despite being a great opportunity to socialize and taste a variety of chili recipes (from white chili to spicy chili with jalapeño corn bread) the Chili Challenge is more than just a friendly competition. Standing as a tradition within the USDA since 2003, the Annual Chili Challenge is intended to bring together participating individuals of diverse cultures and backgrounds to share in a spirit of fellowship. This year’s event was a success. Ten chefs brought their homemade chilis for the enjoyment of USDA employees. The event also hosted the Black Minority Employee Organization, Organization of Professional Employees at USDA, Blacks in Government, and Federally Employed Women, all of which gathered around the Whitten Patio to celebrate our diversity and commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month.

In 2009, thousands of seniors experienced hunger in Ohio because they didn’t know about USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This means they are at risk for food insecurity and malnutrition. For many years now, eligible seniors across America have not participated in SNAP, so when I heard Toledo Area Ministries (TAM) was out in the community helping change that, I had to learn more.

Since receiving a three-year USDA SNAP outreach grant in 2009, TAM has partnered with Lucas County Jobs and Family Services (LCJFS) to identify and enroll eligible seniors in SNAP. LCJFS provides the critical data to target outreach efforts, and TAM goes out into the community to find underserved seniors. The result? Fewer hungry seniors in Lucas County.