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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.

Every family should take steps to prepare for the disaster they hope never comes.  The Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) has recently made two new family disaster preparedness resources available.

As we mark the beginning of National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month I would like to make a request of everyone reading this blog:  Take time today to learn more about the culture and history of the first people of this country.    There will be events across the Nation, including here in Washington.  I hope you’ll take the time to attend one.

Improving the nutrition and health of their students is a high priority for the staff at CentroNia- operated Bilingual Public Charter School (PCS) in Washington, DC.  This was clear to me after I joined them to celebrate the salad bar donated to them by the Dole Food Company and United Fresh Produce Association.  The event, also attended by DC-based celebrity Chefs Cathal Armstrong and Spike Mendelsohn, showcased the school’s deep commitment to the health and welfare of the school’s children and our nation’s next great generation.

In the mid-1970’s, the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate (Sioux Tribe) relocated from a small tribal office building in Sisseton, SD, to establish a new tribal government at the Old Agency Dakota community in Agency Village, SD.  Since then, the tribe has grown immensely in population and in services provided to tribal members, who presently have to travel long distances in order to get needed services from tribal programs at various locations throughout northeastern South Dakota.  Today, the vision of providing needed services to its members in one central location is soon to become a reality, thus fulfilling the dream of decades ago with the move to Agency Village.

The Town of Newburg, West Virginia was awarded a total of $2,875,000 for the Fellowsville, York Run, and State Route 26 Water Extension Project. USDA Rural Development provided a $400,000 loan, $941,000 grant, and a $185,000 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant to the project.  The Town serves approximately 250 households and small businesses with public water service, and this project will add roughly 150 new customers in Fellowsville, York Run, and State Route 26 of Preston County, West Virginia.  The loans and grants were officially closed on July 19, 2010.  Construction started on the project at the beginning of August 2010.

One of our biggest opportunities to increase employment and income in rural America is to enhance the sustainability of beginning farmers.  Many farmers are retiring, and coupled with a renewed interest in local foods is causing an increased demand on small and medium-sized farmers. Nearly 25 percent of U.S. farmers are 65 years and older.  The average age of the farm operator is 57 years.  I have noticed a shift is occurring with an increase in the number of new farm operations with many Americans interested in becoming beginning farmers and ranchers.  However, these farmers face unique challenges, including rising cost of farm land, lack of knowledge about accessing farm land and the capital to buy the land, lack of training in sustainable farming practices, a lack of operating capital in their initial years, and many need experiential learning to be successful.

Somerton, Arizona, is a great example of how USDA Rural Development programs can help bolster a small rural community by touching so many aspects of not only the rural economy but the diverse and vibrant rural people who make it work.

As USDA continues to roll out energy programs contained in the 2008 Farm Bill, more producers are expressing their interests in better understanding of renewable energy, reaching out to us to find out how to make informed decisions and decide if there are opportunities for them. Opportunities that include producing biomass for renewable energy, producing renewable energy, reducing energy costs, and developing a new and sustainable farm income source.

What better way to celebrate National School Lunch Week than visiting winners of our USDA HealthierUS School Challenge! It was an honor to visit North Dakota and Texas schools that are going the extra mile to help children adopt healthier lifestyles. Our winners, the Phoenix, Brenham, and Krause elementary schools, respectively achieved Gold of Distinction and Gold status by providing students safe, nutritious, and healthy meals, in addition to plenty of on-site physical activity.

After struggling for several years with a stagnant economy, the future is looking brighter for Paulsboro, New Jersey.  Earlier this week, USDA Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Cheryl Cook, Assistant Administrator for the Water and Environmental Program Jacki Ponti, and I attended an event to celebrate a Recovery Act-funded water project that will help to stimulate job creation while also upgrading Paulsboro’s water system.