Blogs

The next meeting of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee will be held on Jan. 19, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET.

Registration is now open. HHS and USDA invite the public to participate in this important event by registering in advance to view the livestream.

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.

USDA FNS Administrator and regional FNS leadership visited New Mexico to recognize several FNS nutrition assistance programs in action and learn how FNS can support their work. New Mexico is one of the first states to offer healthy meals to all children, ensuring more kids have access to the meals they need to thrive at school and beyond.

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.

The RUSD community exemplifies the commitment to healthy food for kids – a priority of the USDA and the Biden-Harris Administration. That commitment can produce an entire school community that embraces and supports the notion of serving and teaching kids about healthy foods.

The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture encourage public participation in the committee’s review process.

The HHS and USDA will host the second full meeting of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on May 10, 2023. The meeting will be livestreamed for public viewing.

Over the course of three days in MI, Stacy Dean, Deputy Under Secretary for FNS, spoke at "The State of Our Plate" convening, met with school food service professionals, and attended a summit for healthcare professionals, insurers, federal, state, and local government officials.

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.

Federal nutrition programs do more than give kids food to eat. They teach children about the importance of nutrition and help them develop healthy habits.

The HHS and USDA are excited to announce the members of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee! The Committee will review the current body of nutrition science and make recommendations to help guide HHS and USDA as they develop the 10th edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

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.

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.

October is Farm to School Month, when USDA joins schools, farms, and community organizations across the country to celebrate the role of farm to school programs in getting healthy, locally grown foods onto children’s trays through child nutrition programs, including school breakfast and lunch.

With a desire to create healthy relationships between American children and food, a group of chefs created Pilot Light in 2010. This program partners with Pre K–12 teachers to make food education a part of everyday classroom lessons. Through holistic food education, students learn about the cultivation and preparation of food and the connection to our culture, relationships, history, and the environment.

USDA’s Farm to School Program awards grants to help connect students to the sources of their food through education, taste tests, school gardens, field trips, and local food sourcing for school meals. Schools and other eligible organizations can apply for a Farm to School Grant between now and Jan. 6, 2023.

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.

Here’s what FNS staff had to say about the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health and what lies ahead.

Today kicks off the second, historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. It’s been more than 50 years since the last conference, which produced impactful, meaningful changes to improve USDA nutrition assistance programs, including SNAP, WIC and school meals. The conference will work towards ending hunger and reducing diet-related diseases and disparities in the U.S. by 2030.