Blog
Critical Need to Increase Food Security in Rural Alaska
A key part of our work to end hunger, improve nutrition, increase physical activity, and reduce diet-related diseases is focusing on historically under-served areas, like rural and Tribal communities. Alaska, for instance, faces unique challenges.
09/20/2023
Blog
FNCS Supports Food Sovereignty of Tribal Nations
Stacy Dean, FNCS Deputy Under Secretary , was inspired by how three tribes - Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, and Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe - are dreaming big in terms of food sovereignty through FDIPR and SNAP.
08/01/2023
Blog
Industry Partners’ Role in School Meals is Crucial
Food industry partners play a crucial role in producing, procuring and delivering food for our school meal programs. Despite the challenges that industry and school food service operators have encountered over the past few years, they have continued delivering food and serving nutritious meals to tens of millions of children every day.
03/23/2023
Blog
School Meals Served up Fresh in Southern California
The Urban School Food Alliance winter meeting in Los Angeles, California included FNS sessions focused on child nutrition programs. Participants had the opportunity to ask questions about the child nutrition programs they administer, including the recent updates.
03/10/2023
Blog
Massachusetts’ Flexible Services Program: Improving Food and Nutrition Security Improves Health
Project Bread, a Massachusetts nonprofit focused on permanently solving food insecurity, teamed up with MassHealth to pilot the Flexible Services Program, to bolster food security and meet nutritional needs from birth throughout childhood and beyond, improving health outcomes at every stage of life. Since April 2020, over 7,000 MassHealth members with complex health issues were given an array of food resources.
03/08/2023
Blog
USDA Food Assistance Programs at Work in Guam and CNMI
On August 14-19, a leadership team traveled to Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern Marianna Islands to meet with the territories’ leadership, superintendents and commissioners, that administer USDA food assistance programs. They discussed the challenges of transitioning back to pre-pandemic operations, how USDA could assist, and lessons learned.
10/12/2022
Blog
Liberation Farms - Food Justice in Action
Liberation Farms allows families to grow food for themselves. In 2020, support from community partners helped move farm operations onto a single property with room for everyone – and a herd of goats, too!
09/22/2022
Blog
Nutritionists: The Link to Nutrition Security
WIC’s food package helps to supplement a household’s food budget, increasing participants’ food resources and helping to tackle food and nutrition insecurity. Nutrition educators are a critical ingredient to helping the USDA promote and elevate nutrition security.
09/07/2022
Blog
FNS Programs at Work in the San Francisco Bay Area
In early August, Deputy Under Secretary Stacy Dean and Administrator Cindy Long travelled to San Francisco for meetings and events related to the work FNS does to support local communities - visiting programs that have an impact on addressing hunger.
08/23/2022
Blog
Enrollment in Head Start Programs Now Easier for Families
On May 9, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families and USDA's Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services partnered to celebrate a step forward in streamlining access to crucial government programs.
07/15/2022
Blog
Welcoming Dad to the WIC Family
When enrolling moms into the USDA WIC, less than 30% of state agencies in Connecticut were asking for the fathers name. We don't encourage dads to step up and then we wonder why they don't show up.
06/09/2022
Blog
USDA Advances Market Opportunities through Farm to School Program
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.
01/19/2022
Blog
Celebrating National Farmers Market Week
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.
08/02/2021
Blog
Supporting Local Farmers to Feed Children in Hawaii
We applaud the food service professionals and community partners who have utilized the flexibilities and guidance that USDA has provided to come up with creative ways to get food to the children who need it. In Hawaii, one community college professional found a way to pull resources together for a common cause.
05/21/2020
Page updated: February 25, 2021