nutrition

It’s no secret that supply chain issues experienced across the country have created challenges with food accessibility. Rising COVID-19 cases along with severe weather complicated the flow of goods and services, yet USDA programs have responded with creative solutions to ensure Americans had access to healthy foods.

Happy New Year! What are your health goals for 2022? Whether you want to accomplish a fitness goal or focus on healthy eating, nutrition and exercise are key to meeting your goals. Discover tips to help you make healthy choices that fit with your lifestyle, personal needs and preferences.

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.

The holidays are a time to celebrate with family and friends. Often, those celebrations involve sharing a meal together. With Thanksgiving and the winter holidays here, it is a great time to start looking for recipe ideas! These five, healthy holiday recipes from Nutrition.gov combine vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and other nutritious ingredients in one delicious dish:

What recipes are you looking forward to this fall? Do foods like pumpkin, apples, soups, casseroles and baked goods come to mind? Here are four recipe ideas to bring nutrition and seasonal flavors to your table:

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.

At the direction of Congress and with the support of President Biden as part of the administration’s Build Back Better initiative, USDA is re-evaluating the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) to ensure that it reflects the cost of a practical, nutritious, budget-conscious diet. The re-evaluation is based on four factors: the cost of food, nutrients in food, nutrition guidance, and what Americans eat. USDA plans to publish its re-evaluation soon.

As directed by Congress in 2018, USDA is re-evaluating the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP)—the estimated cost of an affordable, nutritious diet. The TFP is used to calculate SNAP benefit levels. To complement the re-evaluation efforts and gather insights from those who will be impacted by the result, USDA recently hosted five listening sessions with SNAP participants, researchers, advocates, and others. Here’s some of what we heard:

The first week of August, farmers markets across the nation celebrate National Farmers Market Week, highlighting their role in supporting healthy communities, food systems and stimulating local economies.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 5.8 million Americans aged 65 or older live with Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is projected to nearly triple by 2060. Fortunately, USDA-funded research may have found a tasty way to slow disease onset.