USDA Blog

We're fortunate to have a functional garden right at our doorstep in Washington, DC. The People's Garden is always buzzing with plantings, harvest and learning opportunities for employees and visitors alike. Every fall, The People's Garden team puts together a Harvest Festival celebrating the end of...

Are there cost effective steps that rural communities can take to attract and grow competitive, sustainable energy-related businesses? That was the central question being examined by visiting members of the Organization for Economic and Community Development (OECD) during a series of meetings this...

A historic gathering of former Secretaries of Agriculture will occur at the 2012 Agricultural Outlook Forum. Secretary Tom Vilsack will moderate a plenary panel of former Secretaries of Agriculture invited to speak on “Agriculture: Visions of the Future.” At least six of the last eight Secretaries...

A budding new crop of People’s Garden volunteers recently blossomed. Nearly 60 USDA employees received certificates at a ceremony, marking their completion of the department’s 2011 Executive Master Gardener (EMG) training program. Class of 2011 graduates were welcomed as “new-bees” during a sweet...

Mary McGee’s late father could neither read nor write. But he knew how to farm. He could farm so well, his daughter says, he had a PhD in making things grow. He taught her how to transform idle soil into lush farmland and to take care of animals.

Students from Paul Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., found out the fastest way to find a forest within their urban community: walk outside.

When it comes to local foods, it doesn’t get much fresher than vegetables direct from a school garden. In West Salem, Wisconsin, students are not only growing their own vegetables; they’re eating them – with enthusiasm -- in their school lunches. Even more, they’re having fun planting, digging, and...

Pop music star Beyonce recently partnered with First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative to create the Let’s Move! Flash Workout. The Oconaluftee Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center in Cherokee, N.C. has embraced the Let’s Move! concept, and launched a Healthy Eating and Active...

Three community supporters of Let’s Move are moving towards healthier lives. Inspired by First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Faith and Communities initiative, these communities are leading the way in creative solutions to health issues through mobile grocery markets, convenient bicycle...

I recently joined Jackson Middle School students in San Antonio, Texas, to help kick-off their Fuel Up to Play 60 program. The timing was right since September was National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.