October 2010

I recently had the pleasure accompanying Deputy Administrator for Special Nutrition Audrey Rowe and Yvette Jackson, Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator on a visit to Duval Elementary-Middle School in Lincoln County, West Virginia.  Known for wide open spaces and a laid back lifestyle, Lincoln County is also becoming known as a healthy place. We were there because Duval was recognized with a HealthierUS School Challenge gold award, the first of its kind in West Virginia.

It was all hands on deck at the 3^rd Annual Faith, Families & Schools Conference held in Cromwell, Connecticut.  I was extremely pleased to see many of my state colleagues working together in such an important effort.  I participated as the keynote speaker and was introduced by George A. Coleman, Deputy Commissioner Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE). Working together for Student Success was the theme throughout conference.  Members of numerous organizations set up exhibits and had the opportunity to listen to our FNS message. 

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA's rich science and research portfolio.

It’s hard to imagine average Americans of the 1950s and ‘60s walking around carrying bottles of water or worrying about getting to the gym three times a week.  But just as lifestyles have changed over the decades, so have eating styles.  Today’s Americans demand a variety of fresh, convenient, healthy, quick snacks and meals—and USDA scientists made a major contribution to meeting that demand.

Born in the first half of the 20^th century, rural electric cooperatives drove the monumental effort to bring electricity to remote areas of the country where investor-owned utilities could not make a profit.  Owned by their members and not-for-profit organizations, rural electric cooperatives have been providing safe, reliable and affordable electric power for 75 years.

On October 4, fellow USDA Food and Nutrition Service staffer Julie Mikkelson and I attended the Minnesota Vikings annual Taste of the NFL bash at Minneapolis’ Mall of America. This enormously popular charity event funds feeding efforts operated by Second Harvest Heartland, the Upper Midwest’s largest hunger-relief organization.

The USDA’s Food Safety Discovery Zone, in cooperation with FedStrive, made its latest stop at the Health and Human Services’ FreshFarm Market on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. 307 market-goers were provided with information on how to prevent foodborne illnesses using the Be Food Safe campaign’s four easy steps: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill.

Most people do not realize that more than half the water in the United States comes from watersheds managed on forests. Used in homes, on ranches, in industry and for energy production, water resources in forests provide important services to people, as well as habitat for a wide variety of aquatic life. Our rapidly changing climate, however, is challenging our watersheds with both wet and dry extremes - more severe droughts, more frequent and larger floods, more soil moisture stress and lower stream flows during the dry season, less of a snowpack reservoir, and other effects. In a unique pilot project, 11 national forests around the country are assessing the vulnerability of their water resources and watersheds to such changes.

“Fuel, fuel;  Up, Up” and “Let’s Play 60!” were the cheers of the day at Dealey Montessori Vanguard and International Academy in Dallas on September 21.  School cheerleaders and Rowdy, the Dallas Cowboys mascot, led the school-wide pep rally to kick off the school’s Fuel Up to Play 60 program.

Every time we close out a fiscal year and report on the outcomes our grants have supported, I am always astounded by the vast scope of work accomplished by the thousands of grantees who have received awards from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). During our annual awards ceremony this week, we took time out to honor the outstanding work of the best of the best -- four grantees received NIFA Partnership Awards for their exemplary work and contribution in support of the USDA mission and for their positive impacts on agriculture.

USDA science agencies recently joined the National Research Council, Farm Foundation, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and Organic Farming Research Foundation in a symposium to discuss implementing the recommendations of the National Research Council report, “Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21^st Century.”