2009

Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan visited the Capital Area Food Bank in northeast Washington this morning, to help highlight the President's United We Serve initiative and encourage Americans to serve their communities.

She also spoke directly to USDA employees, who are encouraged to participate in the Feds Feed Families program through August by bringing food to work:

Secretary Vilsack has been busy touring the country with other members of the Obama cabinet as part of the Rural Tour -- but yesterday, he traveled to Philadelphia to give a few words in an urban setting as well.

This afternoon in the Peoples' Garden at USDA, the weekly Healthy Garden Workshop was supplemented by a special new activity for kids: the Garden Sprouts program.

The same year astronauts set foot on the moon, USDA launched its own massive project to benefit the American people -- the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).

Secretary Vilsack spoke this morning at the Future Farmers of America State Presidents' meeting. He had the opportunity to meet with FFA's national and state leaders, and took a few minutes to congratulate them on their election to leadership posts in an organization of more than 500,000 active members.

As the peak of the 2009 hurricane season approaches, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is providing recommendations to minimize the chance of foodborne illnesses due to power outages and other problems caused by severe weather.

Secretary Vilsack prepared a message this month describing the purpose and mission of the Peoples' Garden at USDA headquarters in Washington, DC.

Here's the first part of the message. Check it out, and be sure to visit the Peoples' Garden web page and Twitter feed.

From: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
Re: The Peoples' Garden
July 2009

As you may have seen, it's been a busy week on the Rural Tour. Secretary Vilsack visited Wisconsin last Thursday, Virginia on Saturday, and yesterday met with three other members of the Obama cabinet in St. John's Parish, Louisiana to discuss a broad range of issues facing rural America.

When President Obama announced United We Serve, a summer service initiative to encourage all Americans to reach out in service to their neighbors and communities, he was very clear that the government acting alone can’t pull America through these hard economic times.

Secretary Vilsack just announced an additional $274 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for conservation and restoration projects in our nation's forests. The money will mean more American jobs, better trails and scenery in the forests, and new work to maintain these national treasures. The announcement also brings the total figure for ARRA funds dedicated to National Forests to more than $936 million.