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Equity

Omaha Tribe of Nebraska WIC Garden Partners with Community for Nutrition Education

It was a sunny fall day in mid-October when I had the honor of visiting the Omaha Nation WIC program. Upon meeting WIC Director Jessika Free-Bass, I visited the Tribe's WIC garden, which they use to grow produce for client nutrition education. For the Omaha Tribe, nutrition education is a community effort.

Cultural Relevance in SNAP-Ed: Let’s Get “Real”

Oklahoma Tribal Engagement Partners, or OKTEP, collaborates with sovereign tribal nations and tribal organizations throughout Oklahoma to tailor SNAP-Ed programming to meet the needs of Native families. Over time, focus groups have expressed what matters to Natives: the need to be “real.” As organizations look to develop culturally relevant programming, we must step back and listen to what matters to families. We are in an era of change, an era where we are openly called to address inequities in our programming and practices. The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health called nutrition and health professionals to prioritize the role of nutrition and food security in overall health and ensure programs address the nutrition needs of all people.

More than just a co-op: How Cooperatives Strengthen Economic Power

On the brinks of Beaufort, South Carolina, lies the brimming, remote island of St. Helena where the Gullah farmers are hard at work. For years, the Gullah Geechee community, an African American ethnic group located in the low region of the U.S., have struggled to make a living off their biggest asset: their land.

USDA Rural Development’s ReConnect Program Helps Rural Families Close Digital Divide

McClellanville County is a rural community in South Carolina, and like many communities across rural America, access to high-speed internet presents real barriers. Families like Lindsay’s struggled to stay connected in the digital age. “When the kids came home from school and I was working, no one could get on,” said Lindsay. “Everyone had to stop and wait until I was done, and the kids would have to wait to do their homework.”

USDA Food Assistance Programs at Work in Guam and CNMI

On August 14-19, my leadership team and I traveled to Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern Marianna Islands (CNMI) to meet with the territories’ leadership, Superintendents and Commissioners, that administer USDA food assistance programs. We discussed the challenges of transitioning back to pre-pandemic operations and how USDA could assist. We also wanted to hear and see what has worked well, so we could share lessons learned with other states and territories as they transition to post pandemic operations.

Liberation Farms - Food Justice in Action

It’s eight in the morning, and farmers with hand hoes and buckets have been here for two hours already, weeding and watering their plots before the heat of the day. Over 200 members of the Somali Bantu community of Lewiston, Maine, make the short drive out to Liberation Farms a few times each week to tend their crops. Visitors to our farm often comment on how few weeds they spot between stalks of corn. It’s not magic, we tell them: our farmers are constantly in friendly competition to see who can have the best-looking plot.