Food And Nutrition

Small community-based stores, such as corner stores, are convenient places to shop for simple food items. However, smaller stores often have limited inventory – especially for nutritious options. Cooking Matters Colorado and Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center’s School Wellness Programs engaged with three corner stores in Denver to pilot a SNAP-Ed campaign designed to improve healthy eating. The campaign focused on step-by-step recipe frameworks and offered supportive, educational, and practical examples for a flexible approach to recipes that better resonate with community members. Recipe frameworks are rooted in the understanding that recipes do not need to be followed exactly but can serve as a general formula to be adjusted according to budget, needs, and preferences.

In early August, Deputy Under Secretary Stacy Dean and I travelled to San Francisco for meetings and events related to the work the USDA Food and Nutrition Service does to support local communities. On August 3, we spent the day visiting programs around the Bay Area that have an impact on addressing hunger.

Tribal nations across what we now consider the Great Plains relied for millennia on their buffalo relatives for food, medicine, clothing, tools, and shelter. Yet today it is hard to find buffalo meat on school meal trays in the very areas where they once sustained Native communities. The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is working with tribal partners to figure out why and to remove the barriers we can.

More than 50 million youth are expected to attend U.S. schools this fall, and a good portion will be taking their own lunches to school. To help parents and caregivers prepare to-go meals safely, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers some advice.

In honor of the 30th Anniversary of SNAP-Ed, Western Regional Administrator, Jesus Mendoza, Jr., and I attended Rosemary Elementary School in Campbell, CA. The local SNAP-Ed team – which is officially referred to as CalFresh Healthy Living – led a presentation on nutrition education and discussed the importance of every kid eating well-balanced meals.

“Hello, Mommy!”

These are the first warm, welcoming words moms participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, hear when arriving for an appointment at the Mary’s Center (Petworth) WIC Clinic in Northwest D.C. If English isn’t mommy’s primary language – their team happily helps with Spanish, Amharic, French, or Mandarin translation.

My name is Paul Birkbeck, and I have worked with SNAP for 26 years and have been honored to chair Utah's State Nutrition Action Coalition (SNAC) for the past eight years. Throughout the United States, SNACs are an innovative, collaborative strategy to improve community health through partnerships. I am in awe of the passion and dedication of our nutrition partners in Utah.

As any parent can attest, the ability to get nutritious food on the table fast is key. But when you’re cooking for not just your family but a whole school – efficiency is everything.

On May 9, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services (FNCS) partnered to celebrate a step forward in streamlining access to crucial government programs.

School meals are foundational to the health and nutrition for millions of our nation’s children.