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FAS Program Helps Provide Qualified Teachers in Malawi

December 27, 2012 Kate Snipes, Agricultural Counselor, U.S. Embassy Nairobi, Kenya

School children in the rural communities of Malawi will soon have access to more qualified primary school educators, thanks in part to the Foreign Agricultural Service’s (FAS) Food for Progress (FFP) program.

Initiatives Food and Nutrition Trade

No Más Hambre: A Community Call to Action

December 21, 2012 Roxana Barillas, Deputy Director, Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Agriculture

The NO MAS HAMBRE Summit recently held in Washington DC to raise awareness of hunger in the Latino community brought together government, nonprofit, corporate and community leaders to talk about solutions to an endemic problem that often goes unnoticed -- nearly one in three Latino households with...

Food and Nutrition Initiatives

School Garden Turns into Living Learning Laboratory for Nevada Fifth Graders

December 21, 2012 Mark Williams, Nevada USDA Rural Development Energy Coordinator

“Can a School Garden Supplement a Community’s Food Supply in a Sustainable Way?” That was the question asked by Bob Gardner’s fifth grade class at Dayton, Nevada, Elementary School on Tuesday as students presented their science projects to classmates and adult guests.

Initiatives Energy Rural

'Tis the Season to be Counted: U.S. Farmers Give the Gift that Keeps Giving By Participating in 2012 Census

December 18, 2012 Renee Picanso, NASS Census and Survey Division Director

The end of December is typically marked by people returning holiday gifts that don’t fit or aren’t quite right. But this year, farmers and ranchers across the country can give themselves a gift that won’t be returned and will keep on giving even after the holiday season – a voice for their industry...

Research and Science

USDA Kentucky Staff Encourages Students to Pursue Careers in Agriculture

December 18, 2012 Katherine Belcher, USDA Rural Development Public Information Officer

Middle and high school students from across the state gathered on the University of Kentucky (UK) campus earlier this month, to learn about potential careers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). UK’s College of Agriculture hosted the group, Jr. Minorities in Agriculture Natural Resources...

Initiatives Rural

Recovery Act and NRCS Help Tennessee Town Fight Erosion

December 18, 2012 Michelle Banks, NRCS

Steve Koonce, a Civil Engineering Technician with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), remembers swimming in Tennessee’s Cane Creek as a youngster, when he and friends would jump from a bridge into the water 15 feet below. But today, because of a catastrophic erosion problem, that...

Initiatives Conservation

Make It Fun!

December 13, 2012 Patrick Parnell, Foreign Agricultural Service and People’s Garden Executive Master Gardener

As fall was quickly turning into winter, we chose a brisk day in early November to close out gardening season with all of the students at Powell Elementary. Together, along with staff from the NHL’s Washington Capitals and USDA Executive Master Gardeners, we organized a harvest and “Salad Party” so...

Initiatives

What’s Next for Agriculture? Secretary Vilsack Wants to Hear from You!

December 13, 2012 Amanda Eamich, Director of Web Communications

Last week we asked why young Americans should care about the Farm Bill by inviting you to use social media to help tell the story about what is at stake in your lives and communities. The response has been overwhelming! We read tweets from aspiring young scientists about the importance of the Farm...

Conservation Energy Rural Research and Science

U.S. Food Shopping Out of Sync with Nutritional Advice

December 11, 2012 Richard Volpe, Food Markets Branch, Economic Research Service

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio. Many of our diets aren’t what they should be. Americans eat fewer fruits and vegetables than Federal nutrition guidance...

Food and Nutrition Research and Science

School Gardens on Wheels

December 10, 2012 Leslie Burks, Project Manager for The People’s Garden Initiative

USDA partnered with The Washington Capitals to bring a People’s Garden to Powell Elementary School in Washington, DC almost 2 years ago. The process began with a garden design session so parents, teachers and students from every grade could put their ideas on paper. Hundreds of ideas were collected...

Initiatives