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FNCS Acting Deputy Under Secretary Brandon Lipps today highlighted the accomplishments of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service in 2018, from common-sense flexibilities for school meal providers to the agency’s vigorous response to provide food to the victims of coast-to-coast natural disasters.

Secretary Sonny Perdue today applauded the accomplishments made by USDA over the past year. USDA has continued enacting President Trump’s goals of regulatory reform, streamlining government, and refocusing USDA to be customer oriented.

Secretary Sonny Perdue today empowered local schools with additional options to serve healthy and appealing meals. A final rule on school meal flexibilities, to be published later this month in the Federal Register, increases local flexibility in implementing school nutrition standards for milk, whole grains, and sodium. Secretary Perdue said the final rule will deliver on USDA's promise, made in a May 2017 proclamation, to develop forward-thinking strategies that ensure school nutrition standards are both healthful and practical.

To provide relief from the impacts of Hurricane Michael, FNS will allow participants in the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in 23 Georgia counties to buy hot foods with their benefits through Nov. 17, 2018.

Secretary Sonny Perdue yesterday hosted a roundtable with local school officials to learn more about how USDA can best assist and enable their efforts to serve nutritious meals to our nation’s children.

USDA today announced the projects selected to receive the its annual farm to school grants designed to increase the amount of local foods served in schools. Sixty-five projects were chosen nationwide.

FNS today announced $5.2 million in grant awards to bring nutritious, local foods into schools and create new economic opportunities for farmers. The grants will impact over 6,000 schools and 2.8 million students nationwide.

Deputy Secretary Steve Censky today announced two new efforts to provide states and school districts with additional flexibility and support to operate more efficient school meal programs. Censky made the announcement during a speech at the School Nutrition Association Legislative Action Conference.