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Under Secretary Kevin Concannon today announced awards to help four states improve enrollment in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs through a process called direct certification. Direct certification requires states and local educational agencies to automatically enroll students from households already participating in the SNAP or FDPIR, without an additional application from the child’s family to assist low-income households with children eligible for free meals at school.

Under Secretary Kevin Concannon today announced a new range of aggressive tactics to further improve program integrity of USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – formerly known as food stamps. 

Under Secretary Dr. Catherine Woteki today announced new research grants and cooperative agreement awards in eight states and the District of Columbia designed to examine, evaluate and enhance USDA's nutrition assistance programs.

Under Secretary Kevin Concannon today commended select states and the District of Columbia for making program improvements to ensure Americans eligible for SNAP received benefits in a timely manner, in addition to improved program efficiency and integrity.

USDA FNS Under Secretary announced the results of USDA's Household Food Security in the United States, 2010 report that found that the percentage of very low food security declined from 5.7 percent of households in 2009 to 5.4 percent in 2010. 

 Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced new investments in New Hampshire and Idaho to help eliminate childhood hunger and improve nutrition and health for school-aged kids. The grants are awarded to the two state agencies to reduce paperwork and expedite certification of students for free meals in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs through a process called direct certification.

USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Administrator Audrey Rowe yesterday announced the winner of First Lady Michelle Obama's Recipes for Healthy Kids competition. The contest launched last year to challenge students, parents and other interested community members to create tasty and healthy new recipes for America's school cafeteria menus.

The USDA today announced the publication of a proposed rule to strengthen SNAP program integrity by ending the practice called "water dumping." 

Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA in cooperation with state partners has improved payment accuracy and program integrity in the nation's largest nutrition assistance program. Vilsack commended selected states for their excellence in administering SNAP in FY 2010.

FNCS  Deputy Under Secretary Janey Thornton today recognized 154 Dallas schools for their efforts to expand nutrition and physical activity opportunities, the largest group of honorees from one district to date.

Secretary Tom Vilsack today applauded The Office of the First Lady's Let's Move! initiative and the launch of Let's Move! in Indian Country. LMIC is an effort designed to support and advance the work that tribal leaders and community members are already doing to improve the health of American Indian and Alaska Native children.

Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager and Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse will begin today a two-day tour of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri, to meet with those affected by recent disasters.

As part of an effort to reduce hunger and food insecurity, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced USDA grants to improve sustainable regional and local food systems.

Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA will award SNAP grants to develop projects that simplify application and eligibility systems and find efficiencies in the administration of the program with the goal of providing critical nutrition assistance to those in need.

USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon today joined local business leaders, retailers and community members at Sedano's Supermarket to unveil the Spanish-language Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Retail (SNAP) Retailer Locator. The new online search tool is designed to help recipients find SNAP-authorized stores near their home or workplace. With one of the largest concentrations of Spanish speakers in the United States, Concannon emphasized the nutrition and economic stimulus benefits the new tool would have on Miami.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today made a statement on the proposed FY 2012 budget.

Under Secretary Kevin Concannon today joined Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Paul Davis, acting director of AmeriCorps VISTA, and Joel Berg, executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, to swear-in 46 members of the new National Anti-Hunger and Opportunity Corps, an AmeriCorps VISTA project. The new VISTA volunteers will work in both rural and urban areas in 18 states as part of a public-private partnership to increase access to the SNAP for Americans in need.

USDA today released the latest report that measures each state's success in reaching children and families eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. While the national SNAP participation rate was 66 percent, Reaching Those in Need: State Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Rates in 2008, reports state rates varied from an estimated low of 46 percent to a high of 94 percent.