Equity

To ensure the greatest impact of the research and statistical work conducted in the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area, equity, diversity and inclusion must be a core part of our USDA science agencies’ programs, operations and culture.

Supporting families is the foundation of our mission here at USDA. So, before we close 2021, I’d like to look back at one of our programs that continues to do just that: the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, commonly known as WIC.

Refugee and immigrant farmers newly arrived in Vermont are getting help from USDA to continue their agrarian traditions and learn about Vermont soils and growing conditions.

Little Priest was the last war chief of the Winnebago Tribe, and the namesake of Little Priest College, one of 35 tribal colleges and universities with land-grant status. Freshman Trey Blackhawk, an enrolled member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, is pursuing a degree there in Environmental Science. He balances his studies with raising a family, managing the Winnebago Tribal Farm, and now serving as a 1994 Tribal Scholar at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

For nearly 25 years,

USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) celebrates the achievements and contributions of the Hispanic community who are helping advance scientific innovation and creating the next generation of leaders in support of our Nation’s food and agricultural system.

Last month, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack joined a virtual roundtable discussion with farmworkers to recognize National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Farm Safety and Health Week, and highlight the important role that farmworkers play in our nation’s food security and economy.

Having access to quality health care is often a problem for low-income patients who live in rural communities. Fortunately, there are medical facilities such as Sandhills Medical Foundation, Inc in Lugoff, South Carolina that work on a sliding fee scale, which means that all their patients, regardless of income level, can afford quality health care. However, this has also increased their number of patients over time, and it wasn’t long before they recognized that their Lugoff office was running out of space.

As we enter Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct.15), we acknowledge and appreciate the contributions the U.S. Hispanic community has made to advance our economic and agricultural growth.

More than 42 million of our neighbors rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to feed their families. USDA recently re-evaluated the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), used to set SNAP benefits, which increased the purchasing power of the plan by 21% for the first time since it was introduced in 1975. As a result, on October 1, SNAP maximum benefit amounts will increase.