Blog

Last month, I spent three days in Michigan and while spring weather in the Great Lakes State doesn’t appeal to some, I was excited to make the trip. After all, when I was a student at the University of Michigan (Go Blue!), I volunteered at Food Gatherers. So, when asked to speak at their “The State of Our Plate” convening, I said, “Yes!” Some of the people in the room, who were classmates, continuously help federal nutrition programs operate successfully in Washtenaw County through their work to improve food access. I am deeply appreciative for their unwavering service and for showing up for families in need.

In June 2021, President Joe Biden announced the creation of the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) to root out racial and ethnic bias in home valuations after a report from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation found that appraisals for home purchases in majority-Black and majority-Latino neighborhoods were roughly twice as likely to result in a value below the actual contract price compared to appraisals in predominantly-white neighborhoods.

Veteran John Langdon served for 20 years of active duty in the U.S. Army, including deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. He retired in July 2021, with a full career of service under his belt, but without a full appreciation of how challenging it would be to find a civilian job. “I was finally out of the military, so then I was kind of scrambling – very stressful ... I sent out resumes everywhere,” he said.

Last fall, Stacy Dean, USDA’s Deputy Under Secretary for Food Nutrition and Consumer Services, visited the Fondy Farmers Market, Milwaukee's 105-year-old, largest, and first farmers market in Wisconsin to accept SNAP!

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) worked with Michigan’s Grand Traverse Band (GTB) of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians to remove blockages to natural water flow in streams and rivers through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). USDA invested over $18 million in federal grants and $30 million were raised in local matching funds to replace undersized culverts with timber bridges, the removal of old and failing dams, and the purchase of conservation easements to prevent urban development on farmland – particularly fruit farms.

Greeley-Evans School District 6 in northern Colorado was honored and excited to welcome Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to Maplewood Elementary School on March 22. The Secretary and visitors were able to see just one school of more than 30 in District 6 that provide essential health and nutrition programs to more than 22,000 students every day.

Harvesting collard greens and making whole wheat crackers from scratch is not a typical day on the job for me as the Deputy Under Secretary of USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services. But I can assure you it is the perfect recipe for a great day at work! Earlier this month, I had the chance to spend the morning at Watkins Elementary School in Washington, D.C. with Admiral Rachel Levine, Assistant Secretary for Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There, we joined some incredible 5^th grade students during their FoodPrints class and witnessed first-hand the transformational power of nutrition education. And best of all—it was delicious!

As Ramadan, the month of fasting in Islam begins, families are looking forward to gathering for community and home-cooked meals. Here are three food safety tips to keep handy as you whip up your favorite meals for a spectacular iftar (the meal eaten after sunset during Ramadan).

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.

Pitchers are on the mound and warming up for this season’s opening day of baseball. Ninety feet away, batters, armed only with a wooden stick, prepare to face them. Many parts of America’s national pastime have changed over the years, but the two key elements – putting bat to ball – have remained at its core.