Newsroom

Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that Kansas State University was selected to establish the Center of Excellence for Food Safety Research in Child Nutrition Programs. The Center will provide science-based support to improve the safety of foods provided through the FNS nutrition assistance programs, particularly those served in schools and child care settings.

Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that tribal nutrition education projects in 10 states have been selected to receive grants this year through USDA's Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations. The grants will help develop creative, self-initiated projects designed to enhance the nutrition knowledge and to foster positive lifestyle changes of FDPIR participants in low-income households living on Indian reservations and to American Indian households residing in approved areas near reservations or in Oklahoma.

Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that Washington State University will develop and run the People's Garden School Pilot Program which will serve an estimated 2,800 students attending 70 elementary schools in Washington, New York, Iowa and Arkansas. The Healthy Gardens, Healthy Youth pilot is an innovative strategy to help our nation win the future through improved K-12 education. It explores the impact of school gardens on learning and on changing student consumption patterns so they make healthier food choices.

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.

Agriculture Under Secretary Kevin Concannon today announced that more low-income kids will have access to nutrition assistance when school is out and during critical gap periods. USDA's Food and Nutrition Service provided waivers to simplify existing regulations making it easier to provide critical meals through the Summer Food Service Program. The changes will expand and enhance the ability of the SFSP to provide nutritious meals and snacks to children in low-income areas during the summer months and long vacation periods for schools on year-round schedules.

USDA announced today that ten states were selected as finalists to participate in a pilot program for an innovative universal free meal service option designed to make it easier for low-income children to receive meals in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. 

USDA today announced the recipients of grants to improve the delivery of nutrition assistance to low-income children during the summer months. The grants will be used to test innovative alternatives to enable children from low-income households to access healthy food during the summer and will boost participation in the Summer Food Service Program, which provides meals to children from low-income households during summer months.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today joined Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, No Kid Hungry National Campaign spokesperson Jeff Bridges, and leaders from the state and local level to launch the Los Angeles No Kid Hungry Campaign, a public-private partnership that will work to connect more than 600,000 children and teens to school breakfast and child care nutrition programs. Vilsack highlighted the partnership as a model for helping communities increase food access by promoting coordination and partnerships between public, private and non-profit partners.

FNS teamed with San Angelo Independent School District today to celebrate National School Breakfast Week by emphasizing the administration's commitment to provide our nation's school children healthy, well-balanced meals to prepare for a productive school day. 

Today, Secretary Vilsack announced the recipes chosen to advance in First Lady Michelle Obama's Recipes for Healthy Kids competition and encouraged the public to vote for their favorite recipe now through May 15, 2011. USDA and the First Lady launched the Recipes for Healthy Kids competition last September, challenging teams of school nutrition professionals, chefs, students, and community members to develop creative, nutritious, and kid-approved recipes that schools can easily incorporate into National School Lunch Program menus.

Under Secretary, Kevin Concannon and Congressman Mike McIntyre visited Elizabethtown Primary School in Elizabethtown, N.C. today to celebrate School Breakfast Week and National Nutrition Month. During their visit they highlighted the importance of USDA's nutrition assistance programs that touch the lives of 1 in 4 Americans last year, including the nearly 32 million kids that participate in school meal programs every school day.

Secretary Tom Vilsack today marked National School Breakfast Week by emphasizing the administration's commitment to provide schoolchildren with healthy, well-balanced meals to prepare them for a productive school day. 

Today,  FNCS Under Secretary Kevin Concannon toured a local WIC clinic and highlight the impact of recent legislation reauthorizing the program. Concannon was joined by FNS Western Regional Administrator Allen Ng, at the visit to a clinic run by the largest WIC agency in the country, which serves approximately 4 percent of the nation's total and 23 percent of California's WIC recipients. 

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 People's Garden Director Livia Marqués, Washington Capitals Defensemen and 2011 NHL All-Star Mike Green, Comcast SportsNet analyst Alan May and Powell Elementary School Principal Janeece Docal launched a People's Garden Workshop today to design a garden at the school. Teachers, parents and every student in the school – 289 children from pre-Kindergarten to 4th grade – participated in the design process led by USDA employees.

Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today visited North Carolina State University to announce a grant to develop an obesity prevention program that increases access to healthy food and safe places for physical activity. The announcement was delivered as part of the first anniversary of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative.

USDA Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Under Secretary Kevin Concannon today joined San Francisco Board of Education President Hydra Mendoza in a tour of E.R. Taylor Elementary School to see how the school exemplifies First Lady Obama's Let's Move! initiative, which is dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation. They observed children participating in organized physical activity, visited the school garden, and participated in a cooking lesson. The event is one of dozens taking place around the country this week to inspire communities, families and schools to take action against childhood obesity.

USDA today announced that children placed into the foster care system by a state or court are categorically eligible to receive free meals in all USDA child nutrition programs. The expansion of categorical eligibility to foster children is a component of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 which President Obama signed into law Dec. 13, 2010.