food and nutrition

There are few things that worry a parent more than their children’s health and safety. The ongoing infant formula shortage due to supply chain issues, which worsened due to a major formula recall in February, has left many caregivers feeling concerned and anxious about their options for safely feeding their infants.

It’s the age-old question – how to get children to eat more fruit? We all know the benefits of a diet that’s rich in fruit. At least adults do. Convincing children to add more fruit to their diet is another challenge. The food nutrition experts at the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands enticed their school children to eat more fruit by serving fruit smoothies.

Lead is a naturally occurring heavy metal found in the soil, water, and air. It is also a toxic substance that can affect brain and kidney function and pregnancy outcomes. Robust international food safety standards help all nations to reduce toxic lead exposure. In 2021, the U.S. Codex Office (USCO) worked with the international food standards setting body (Codex Alimentarius) to develop science-based food standards. One area they focused on was reducing lead contamination in food.

The National School Lunch Program provides nutritious meals to about 30 million children daily in the U.S. Such success would not have been possible without the early efforts and continuing contributions of women. For over a century, women have led the way in starting programs that provide healthy foods to children from underserved communities. And what started as local efforts have grown into staple, federal programs.

As Deputy Under Secretaries, it’s not every day that we get to don aprons and make chicken enchiladas as part of our work. But during a visit to Tyler Elementary School in Virginia’s Prince William County to celebrate National Nutrition Month, that’s exactly what we did!

USDA has always worked to ensure all Americans have adequate access to food. Now, the time has come for deeper conversation about nutrition security – the consistent access to safe, healthy, affordable food essential to optimal health and well-being, regardless of race, ethnicity, or background. Nutrition security efforts work together with promoting food security, ensuring that everyone not only has enough to eat, and that those calories contribute to their overall health.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) honors those who champion racial justice, equality, and equity in the fight to end hunger. This Black History Month, we’re recognizing the late U.S. Representative Mickey Leland.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact everyone, many Americans grapple with food insecurity. This past year, in fact, over 29 million adults and 12 million children struggled to afford food, while more than 1 in 5 Black and Latino adults and children reported food insecurity.

USDA is collaborating with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the Closer to Zero (C2Z) initiative. C2Z provides a crucial framework for the work that must be done to reduce heavy metal content in foods, but particularly in foods consumed by infants and children, our most vulnerable group.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service is committed to providing equitable access to food to all Americans, but racial disparities in food security still exist. With the rate of food and nutrition insecurity higher among Black, Hispanic, and Native American populations, the data bears this out.