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Since 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has seen a 69 percent increase in children being employed illegally by companies. In the last fiscal year, the department found 835 companies it investigated had employed more than 3,800 children in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In February, DOL announced that one of the nation’s largest sanitation services providers for food processors had employed at least 102 children in hazardous occupations and had them working overnight shifts at 13 meat processing facilities owned by nine different companies. While this issue is not unique to the food industry, it cannot be ignored that it is a problem, and USDA is standing with our federal partners to combat it.

March 31 marks César Chávez Day and serves as a reminder to all Americans of the importance of service, community, education, and commitment to advocating for farmworkers and their families. Chávez was a champion of farmworkers’ rights, calling for fairer wages and improved working conditions and helping open the door for better opportunities for farmworkers across the country.

Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law by President Biden in August 2022, directs USDA to provide financial assistance to producers who have experienced discrimination in USDA’s farm lending programs. This program provides USDA the ability to deliver financial assistance for those farmers, ranchers, or forest landowners determined to have experienced discrimination in USDA's farm lending programs prior to January 1, 2021. These funds are one step in the long march towards justice and an inclusive, equitable USDA.

As a Latina woman, raised in a black community by a single white mother, Poppy Sias-Hernandez understands how access to equitable support and resources can have a life changing impact.

After Michelle Hughes graduated from Haverford College, she took a job on a hog farm at the University of Pennsylvania in preparation for veterinary school. While working on the farm, Hughes’ career interests shifted towards production agriculture and advocacy.

Gary Matteson is a farmer with a passion for helping beginning farmers from all backgrounds and walks of life. During his 30-year farming career, he built a successful operation raising greenhouse wholesale cut flowers and beef cattle for local sales in Epsom, New Hampshire.

As an undergraduate student, Dr. Mireya Loza, Associate Professor of History at Georgetown University, wrote a paper about her Uncle Juan, a guest worker from Mexico who worked in the fields in California, Michigan and other places in the U.S.

While Todd Corley, senior vice president for Inclusion & Sustainability at Carhartt, didn’t begin his career in the change management or diversity and inclusion fields, the Jesuit concept of cura personalis or the “care of the whole person” certainly motivated his actions and interests. This concept involves providing individualized attention to the needs of others, while focusing on each person’s unique circumstances, concerns, gifts and insights.

For nearly 25 years,

Good customer experience starts at the very first interaction with a customer, which is why the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently officially launched its AskUSDA Contact Center program to support inquiries via web, phone, chat, or email. AskUSDA serves as the one “front door” to help deliver a centralized contact center experience, helping customers get consistent and streamlined information.