Blogs

The 2023 SNAP E&T State Institute, hosted by FNS, brought together 20 state SNAP agencies for a two-day event that aimed to assess and enhance their SNAP Employment and Training programs. 

One year after the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health held on Sept. 28, 2022, FNS continues accelerating progress on the conference’s goals to end hunger, improve healthy eating and physical activity, and reduce diet-related diseases and disparities.

A key part of our work to end hunger, improve nutrition, increase physical activity, and reduce diet-related diseases is focusing on historically under-served areas, like rural and Tribal communities. Alaska, for instance, faces unique challenges.

For far too long, decisions about FDPIR were made for tribes rather than with tribes or even by tribes. But USDA is committed to turning that tide and making the future of FDPIR one marked by listening, understanding and collaboration.

The first of September marks the start of Hunger Action Month. More than 13 million households in the United States were uncertain or unable to acquire food at some time during 2021. Through the Feds Feed Families program, USDA is taking action against hunger by donating canned food, fresh fruits, and vegetables to food banks and pantries.

USDA's Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services is dedicated to advancing food and nutrition security through the administration of 16 federal nutrition assistance programs to ensure that every American, regardless of race, ethnicity, or background, has access to healthy, safe, affordable food. FNCS reaches 1 in 4 Americans through its programs.

Thanks to a partnership between USDA and the National Association of Farmers Market Nutrition Programs, direct marketing farmers are now able to accept SNAP payment online. The first direct marketing farmer enabled to accept SNAP online is River Queen Greens, a vegetable farm in New Orleans, Louisiana. SNAP online payments increase accessibility for River Queen Greens customers.

The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture invite the public to provide oral comments to the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee virtually during its third meeting on Sept.12-13, 2023. Registration is required and will open tomorrow, Aug. 10, 2023, at 10 a.m. EST.

Stacy Dean, FNCS Deputy Under Secretary , was inspired by how three tribes - Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, and Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe - are dreaming big in terms of food sovereignty through FDIPR and SNAP.

USDA’s 16 nutrition assistance programs reach one in four Americans over the course of a year, and they are some of the most far-reaching, powerful tools in the federal government to help ensure that everyone — of all demographic groups and life stages—experiences nutrition security.

The 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee will hold its third meeting Sept. 12-13, 2023. The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture invite the public to participate in this important event via live webcast.

USDA FNS Administrator and regional FNS leadership visited New Mexico to recognize several FNS nutrition assistance programs in action and learn how FNS can support their work. New Mexico is one of the first states to offer healthy meals to all children, ensuring more kids have access to the meals they need to thrive at school and beyond.

Bringing together local producers and schools was the objective of the “Bringing the Farm to School” producer training in Hardin, Montana. The training sought to build relationships between schools and producers to increase the availability of local foods served to children.

SNAP provides nutrition support to millions of American families in need. USDA’s FNS works with partner states to ensure that SNAP provides the right amount of benefits to eligible families in the prescribed timeframes.

Connecting Kids to Meals, known as CKM, is a nonprofit agency in Toledo, Ohio, that provides healthy meals at no cost to at-risk kids in low-income and underserved areas of Northwest Ohio. With a nearly 20-year history of feeding hungry kids, the critical work of CKM becomes more important every day.

The RUSD community exemplifies the commitment to healthy food for kids – a priority of the USDA and the Biden-Harris Administration. That commitment can produce an entire school community that embraces and supports the notion of serving and teaching kids about healthy foods.

Reliable, high-quality work is a powerful way out of poverty, and USDA’s SNAP Employment and Training helps gain professional skills and connections to better employment opportunities.

Can you imagine a day when healthcare is mostly proactive as opposed to reactive? Imagine if everyone has access to the vital conditions for health and wellbeing: the factors that people depend on to reach their full potential. What does that future look like?

USDA FNS is working hard to get more eligible families connected to WIC by making it easier to enroll.

School breakfast programs are critical in building a healthier future for America’s children. But currently, only half of the children who eat school lunch also get their breakfast at school.