News Item
USDA Invests $50 Million for Schools & Food Industry to Work Together to Strengthen School Meals
USDA FNS today launched a new and innovative initiative for healthier school meals through a $50 million grant opportunity that will support collaboration with the food industry to develop nutritious, appetizing school meals for students. This launch follows through on a commitment made in the administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health.
11/10/2022
Blog
Food Waste Reduction through Farm to School Programs
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.
10/27/2022
Blog
School Lunch is Nutritious and Delicious
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.
10/14/2022
Blog
USDA Food Assistance Programs at Work in Guam and CNMI
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.
10/12/2022
Blog
The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health: What it Means to Me
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.
09/28/2022
Blog
Four Ways to Nourish More Children through School Meals
Over the last two years, we’ve experienced major disruptions in the world of school meals – new realities stemming from pandemic-related school closures and supply chain disruptions which have impacted the cost and availability of food, staff, and supplies. Through it all, our dedicated school nutrition professionals have demonstrated a tireless commitment to ensuring kids remain fed and nourished.
09/08/2022
Blog
FNS Programs at Work in the San Francisco Bay Area
In early August, Deputy Under Secretary Stacy Dean and Administrator Cindy Long travelled to San Francisco for meetings and events related to the work FNS does to support local communities - visiting programs that have an impact on addressing hunger.
08/23/2022
News Item
Statement from Secretary Tom Vilsack on Congressional Deal for Child Nutrition
USDA’s child nutrition programs provide nutritious meals to America’s children. The school and other nutrition professionals who make these meals possible need additional resources and continued flexibilities as they grapple with the ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic. The deal would ease uncertainty and bring a measure of relief to our schools, summer sites and child care feeding programs - Secretary Vilsack.
06/22/2022
Page updated: February 09, 2021