Perdue Enlists American Innovators to Advance Self-Sufficiency

Washington, DC, May 8, 2019 – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue met today with leaders from around the country to explore new ways to help low-income Americans access nutritious food and move to an independent and self-sufficient future.

Participants in today’s discussion at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ranged from developers of apps and other cutting-edge technology to workforce partners and leaders of rescue missions using the power of faith to transform lives. They are united by a shared interest: helping people in need get access to nutritious food and achieve self-sufficiency.

“We want to figure out how we can work together. We consider these innovators as partners in our overall effort to fulfill our motto – to Do Right and Feed Everyone,” said Secretary Perdue. “We want to learn from you what we need to be doing better, what we ought to be doing and what we ought to stop doing… to help people move past dependency, into a more independent lifestyle.”

Today’s roundtable aligns with the core of USDA’s mission, and Secretary Perdue’s vision, to provide access to nutritious food with an emphasis on helping people achieve their personal and career goals. Today’s discussion draws on lessons, examples, and expertise from these front-line innovators and creates opportunities for USDA to improve customer service and strengthen results. These discussions focused on reducing barriers for these private partners to work with USDA to better serve our shared customers.

This nutrition-focused effort is the latest example of USDA’s commitment to learn from the best in business and foster positive working relationships with innovative private partners towards shared goals in every part of its wide-ranging portfolio. It is especially important because nutrition assistance programs are built on partnerships, and public-private partnerships have proven successful in dealing with challenging issues we face in meeting diverse needs of the people we serve.