Blog

California native Floyd D. Harris III knows that perseverance and hard work pay off. A recent graduate of Southern University, an 1890 land-grant university in Louisiana, Harris applied several times to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)/1890 National Scholars Program.

Imagine this. You are a new farmer who bought a plot of land in your hometown. You’re making important decisions for your operation like what to plant and where. If only you had a tool to identify historical information for what’s been grown on your land and in your area that would allow you to make better informed decisions to set up your new business for success.

Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has advanced equity by listening to the people we serve and learning how we can serve them better by removing barriers to our programs and services. USDA offices and agencies have developed key actions to comprehensively incorporate equity into the Department’s services, which touch every American’s life.

Virginia native Michael Reese wanted to see the world, meet new people, and secure funding for college. Following in the footsteps of his father and brother, he served in the United States Navy for 30 years from 1989 to 2019.

Summer is a beautiful time to travel the country and visit with partners, and I am delighted, humbled and honored to have visited the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, and Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe last month. It was inspiring and impressive to see how the tribes are dreaming big in terms of food sovereignty - delivering healthy, fresh, locally sourced, and traditional foods to their members in their communities through the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched a new internship program for students from migrant and farmworker backgrounds this summer.

Parents and caregivers should take extra precautions when preparing and packing a school lunch. Flunking in food safety is not an option, especially when children are most vulnerable to foodborne illness.

Almost a year and a half ago, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack outlined USDA’s focus on nutrition security, which builds on food security by emphasizing the co-existence of food insecurity and diet-related diseases and disparities. Put simply, nutrition security means having consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, affordable foods essential to optimal health and well-being. It’s my honor and privilege to join this effort as the second director of nutrition security and health equity at the Food and Nutrition Service within USDA and lead the department’s approach to advancing food and nutrition security.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) selected 100 students for this year’s USDA/1890 National Scholars Program out of a record number of applications received through the new online application process. The new online portal is part of USDA’s efforts to improve accessibility to USDA programs, increase equity and inclusion, and build the USDA workforce.

The 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s work continues! The committee will hold its third meeting September 12-13, 2023. The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA) invite the public to participate in this important event via live webcast. Registration is required and will open on Thursday, August 10, 2023, at DietaryGuidelines.gov.