Blog

  • Investing in SNAP Integrity: Examining the Adequacy of SNAP Benefits
    As the Federal agency responsible for carrying out the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s mission, we are constantly taking actions to improve program integrity. In 2012, we enacted tougher financial sanctions to punish those who abuse the program; sent letters to the CEOs of Ebay, Facebook, Twitter and Craigslist to engage their help in preventing the [...]
  • Preview of Food Price Outlook and Farm Income Sessions at 2013 Agricultural Outlook Forum
    USDA’s 2013 Agricultural Outlook Forum, Feb. 21-22, in Arlington, Va., will host a morning of plenary session speakers on the opening day followed by 25 breakout sessions.  The “Food Price Outlook” breakout session for 2013 will offer perspectives on food price inflation, the factors contributing to food prices, and the consumer implications. In this session, [...]
  • Resolving on a Healthier Future
    This post is part of the Science Today  feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio. Chances are that among many of the Americans who made a New Year’s resolution, nutrition figures somewhere in their goal. They may be aiming [...]
  • Happy Birthday SuperTracker!
    After an exciting and successful year reaching well over a million users, SuperTracker celebrates its first birthday! With growing public interest in nutrition and health, we found that SuperTracker is the online tool many people have been waiting for to help them adopt healthful eating habits; something that is top of mind this time of [...]
  • Garden Wagon Brings Agriculture to Eastern Cherokee Indians
    When members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians can’t make it to their local extension office, their extension office comes to them—with a gift of better health through home gardening. Kevin Welch, a Federally-Recognized Tribal Extension Program (FRTEP) educator at North Carolina State University, developed a garden wagon to reach more members of the [...]
  • No Más Hambre: Un llamado a la acción comunitaria
    La cumbre NO MAS HAMBRE celebrada recientemente en Washington DC para crear conciencia sobre el hambre en la comunidad latina reunió a líderes gubernamentales, grupos sin fines de lucro, empresas y miembros de la comunidad para hablar sobre soluciones a un problema endémico que a menudo pasa desapercibido – el que casi uno de cada [...]
  • No Más Hambre: A Community Call to Action
    The NO MAS HAMBRE Summit recently held in Washington DC to raise awareness of hunger in the Latino community brought together government, nonprofit, corporate and community leaders to talk about solutions to an endemic problem that often goes unnoticed — nearly one in three Latino households with children faces hunger in this country. At the [...]
  • Celebrating the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act Two Years Later
    It’s been two years since President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 into law. The Act cleared the way for historic improvements to the child nutrition programs, such as school lunch and school breakfast, that serve millions of our nation’s children. We’ve already implemented many provisions of the Act, with many schools [...]
  • U.S. Food Shopping Out of Sync with Nutritional Advice
    This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio. Many of our diets aren’t what they should be. Americans eat fewer fruits and vegetables than Federal nutrition guidance recommends, and we over-consume fats, [...]
  • Don’t Forget Your Winter “Vegetables”
    December is National Tomato and Winter Squash Month, a time to celebrate two very versatile “vegetables” that contain a wealth of flavors and nutrients. You may find this hard to believe, but at one point tomatoes (once called “love apples”) were considered poisonous and grown solely for their ornamental value.  Today tomatoes are the most [...]
  • Innovation Helps Fuel Growth for Winter Farmers Markets
    This is one of my favorite times of the year.  New and old traditions bring friends and family together to celebrate, cheer for their favorite football teams or just to share a hearty meal and some spirited conversations.  As the weather gets cooler, my family gravitates toward comfort foods and traditional family favorites, picking up [...]
  • New Jersey School Gardens Offer More Than Just Produce
    New Jersey Farm to School Network and Edible Jersey Magazine recently awarded their inaugural School Garden of the Year Award to three projects for innovative efforts to connect their school gardens to the cafeteria, curriculum, and community.  How fitting that schools in the Garden State are host to a number of exemplary school gardens! The [...]
  • Wheat Genome Sequenced in Breakthrough for Global Food Security
    The Journal Nature today published a paper reporting that scientists from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), as part of an international team, have completed a shotgun sequencing of the wheat genome. The achievement is expected to increase wheat yields, help feed the world and speed up development of wheat varieties with enhanced nutritional value. Wheat [...]
  • Food for Thought Exhibit: Putting the Dietary Guidelines into Action at the Koshland Science Museum
    On November 15, 2012, the National Academy of Sciences Koshland Science Museum here in Washington, DC, premiered its new Food for Thought exhibit. This engaging experience offers an interactive and thought-provoking opportunity for visitors to explore the practical how-to of healthy eating. To kick off the grand opening of the exhibit, the Koshland held its [...]
  • Secretary’s Column: Recognizing Native American Heritage Month
    This November, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has joined Americans across the country in recognizing Native American Heritage Month. We’ve taken time to honor the contributions of more than 5 million Native Americans across the United States. We’ve also reaffirmed our special relationship with those who live, work and raise their families in rural America. [...]
  • Bringing Federal Partners to the Local Foods Table
    Three years ago this fall, Secretary Vilsack and I launched the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative (KYF2).  Since then, we’ve seen interest and participation in local and regional food systems grow beyond anything we expected: whether I’m meeting with buffalo ranchers from the Great Plains or with members of the U.S. Conference of [...]
  • A Thanksgiving Treat–Local Foods for Schools in a Minnesota Community
    On a fall morning in Mrs. Jones’ sixth-grade class in Tracy, Minn., students are learning how to make pumpkin pudding. Instead of using a can opener to pry the lid off cans of pumpkin, a real pumpkin is being used. And not just any real pumpkin, a pumpkin that came straight from a local garden [...]
  • Join USDA in Helping those Affected by Hurricane Sandy
    In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we want to share valuable information about Federal relief efforts and resources to help those impacted in the Northeast. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is coordinating with States and partner organizations to provide disaster nutrition assistance to individuals in 14 states affected by Hurricane Sandy. To aid those [...]
  • USDA’s SuperTracker Receives Award for Outstanding IT Achievement in Government
    In addition to reaching over 1.4 million users, USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion now has something else to be proud of regarding its state-of-the-art SuperTracker.  On October 24, 2012, the SuperTracker Team received the 2012 Government Computer News (GCN) Award for Outstanding IT Achievement in Government, along with nine other awardees from local, [...]
  • Collaboration Key to Aiding Hurricane Sandy Victims
    Tough times and dire circumstances have a longstanding history of bringing America’s communities and organizations together.  The recent storms that descended on much of the nation’s Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions have underscored these important partnerships. For many of the stricken areas, including the urban centers in the Northeast, natural disasters of this scale are relatively [...]
More