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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced a $1.13 billion investment to support local and regional food systems, building upon the Department’s previous investments in the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement and Local Food for Schools programs. 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that students eligible for free and reduced price school meals must not be charged junk fees along with the cost of a meal served through the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program.

USDA today announced a $29 million investment into programs supporting the WIC Workforce National Strategy. The investment will fund eight projects by addressing the workforce needs of WIC agencies, enhancing diversity and cultural competency, and increasing the uptake of WIC benefits and services.

USDA kicked off its Fall 2024 Healthy Meals Summit today, the largest gathering of school nutrition partners ever convened by the federal government. The summit will both celebrate the healthy school meals being served across the country and equip schools with tools and best practices to elevate the nutritional quality of their meals.

USDA’s FNS awarded a total of $10 million in grants through its partners – Full Plates Full Potential and the Illinois Public Health Institute – as part of USDA’s $100 million Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative. The initiative empowers schools to continue serving delicious, healthy meals that give students nutrition to grow and thrive.

Secretary Tom Vilsack announced major steps to promote the health of America’s children through school meals. Nutrition standards for school meals will be gradually updated to include less sugar and flexibility with menu planning between Fall 2025 and Fall 2027. The Department arrived at these changes after listening closely to public feedback and considering the latest science-based recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 

Nutrition leaders and mothers from across the country praised USDA’s finalized updates to the WIC food package and the positive implications it will have for women, infants, and young children who rely on this vital program.

Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has finalized updates to the foods prescribed to participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that four school districts in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, and Ohio received awards for their trailblazing and innovative efforts to improve the nutritional quality of meals for their students.

WIC is vital to the health and well-being of nearly half of our nation’s babies, along with millions of young children up to age 5 and their mothers. Yet, recent research based on 2021 data published by FNS shows more than 6 million of those who are eligible for the program are missing out on its proven health benefits.   

Today, USDA released the Household Food Security in the United States in 2022 report, which examined American households’ ability to access sufficient food last year.