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Bringing together local producers and schools was the objective of the “Bringing the Farm to School” producer training in Hardin, Montana. The training sought to build relationships between schools and producers to increase the availability of local foods served to children.

In Colorado, Adams and Denver counties are taking innovative approaches to co-located health and human services operations.

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.

TEFAP Reach and Resiliency – Round 1 grants are making an impact in communities across the nation. The Food Bank of Lincoln has leveraged Reach and Resiliency sub-grant funding to identify underserved areas and to implement strategies to increase TEFAP access in those areas. In some cases, the strategies were as simple as increasing the frequency of deliveries to specific communities to ensure that existing TEFAP resources were being equitably distributed.

USDA FNS Mountain Plains Region is in year three of a collaborative partnership with HHS SAMHSA to facilitate The Food and Mood Project. The goal of The Food and Mood Project is to promote behavioral health, and reduce the impact of mental health and substance use issues through identifying and implementing strategies that address the intersection between nutrition security and behavioral health and wellness.

The Omaha Nation WIC program recognizes the importance of incorporating Indigenous foods and traditional cooking practices into the WIC experience to form a holistic approach to nutrition education. Recently, they have taken extra steps to spotlight foods indigenous to their community, as well as dishes and cooking methods traditionally used by the Umóⁿhoⁿ people.

October is Farm to School Month! The USDA Farm to School Program helps schools incorporate local foods into meal programs and supports local food and agriculture education through grants, research, and technical assistance. Less plate waste may be a benefit for schools implementing farm to school.

Cooking Matters Colorado and Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center’s School Wellness Programs engaged with three corner stores in Denver to pilot a SNAP-Ed campaign designed to improve healthy eating.

Tribal nations across what we now consider the Great Plains relied for millennia on their buffalo relatives for food, medicine, clothing, tools, and shelter. Yet today it is hard to find buffalo meat on school meal trays in the very areas where they once sustained Native communities. FNS is working with tribal partners to figure out why and to remove the barriers we can.

When we take time to listen and learn from each other, we can effectively partner to put nutrition security within reach for all and move us ever closer to more equitable food systems.

Supporting families is the foundation of our mission here at USDA. So, before we close 2021, I’d like to look back at one of our programs that continues to do just that.