USDA, Department of Defense, Celebrate the Bounty of Farmers Market

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Audrey Rowe, USDA, Food and Nutrition Service Administrator, on August 27, 2014 at 10:00 AM

Administrator Rowe views the healthy offerings provided at a local farmers market.

Earlier this month, USDA celebrated National Farmers Market Week to highlight the healthy offerings they provide American families.  The department invests in farmers markets in a myriad of ways – from helping farmers develop their products for markets, to enriching children’s bodies and minds through the “farm to school” program.  In fact, today there are more than 8,000 farmers markets listed in the National Farmers Market Directory, with more than 5,000 of those farmers markets and farm stands accepting SNAP benefits.

During the month, I had a chance to speak with Lt. Col. Eric Smith, commander of Fort Meade’s (Md.) Headquarters Command Battalion.  We discussed USDA’s partnership with the Department of Defense and supporting the Healthy Base Initiative through FNS programs.  DoD’s Healthy Base Initiative works to improve the health and wellness of service members and their families by reducing obesity and decreasing tobacco use. Currently, 14 military installations participate in a pilot to create an environment that promotes healthy lifestyles. Fort Meade is one of them.

While at the Maryland’s Farmers Market Week kick-off event, Smith and I had the opportunity to meet with the state’s Department of Agriculture Secretary, Buddy Hance. Smith explained the importance of providing healthy and nutritious foods to all Americans, and for good reason.  According to a ‘Mission: Readiness’ 2012 report, 25 percent of today’s young adults are too overweight to serve in the military, an epidemic that impacts our Nation’s security.

At FNS, our programs are designed to fight hunger and improve the health of our families and children, some of whom will be called on to defend our nation. Federal nutrition assistance programs can serve as a vital bridge to improving health problems associated with obesity.

Fort Meade’s Farmers Market Manager, Marsha Johnston, educated customers about the Double Value Coupon Program (DVCP) for Women, Infant and Children (WIC) participants, including  a young woman shopping for fresh produce. Through Maryland’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, she received WIC vouchers that could double her purchasing power at the market. The goal of DVCP is to provide consumers in under-served communities the opportunity to double the value of their healthy purchases with their federal nutrition benefits from WIC and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

My father served during World War II and was part of what some refer to as “the greatest generation.”  I’m proud to know that USDA’s nutrition programs enhance not only our country’s health, but also our security.

Bringing the Best to School Lunches

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Craig A. Morris, Deputy Administrator of the AMS Livestock, Poultry and Seed Program, on August 26, 2014 at 3:00 PM

The Food Safety and Commodity Specifications Division (FSCSD) within USDA’s Agricultural Marketing sets standards and provides testing and oversight for meat, poultry, egg products, and seafood purchased for the National School Lunch Program.

Top grocery stores and restaurants in the United States guarantee their customers consistently get high quality products through rigorous standards and robust testing and oversight programs. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is doing essentially the same thing – working to ensure that recipients of federal nutrition assistance programs such as the National School Lunch Program get meat, poultry, egg products, and seafood that match the quality and specifications used by the best commercial firms.

AMS purchases products through a competitive process among approved vendors.  Some of these purchases support American agriculture by providing an outlet for surplus products.  The products are delivered to schools, food banks, and households in communities across the country and are a vital component of our nation’s food safety net.

The Food Safety and Commodity Specifications Division (FSCSD) within AMS’ Livestock, Poultry, and Seed program sets standards and provides testing and oversight for these purchases. The specifications developed for the various federal food and nutrition assistance programs are critical, ensuring recipients receive safe and nutritious food.  FSCSD develops, reviews, and continuously refines AMS purchase requirements for various food safety attributes like food defense and metal detection, cooking and refrigeration, and allowable tolerances for microorganisms.  Results from purchase testing are used to monitor vendor performance and determine their eligibility as vendors.

One key to developing and maintaining rigorous and achievable specifications is transparency—both for the standards themselves and for the ability of AMS vendors to meet them.  The purchase specifications used by AMS to purchase foods—including microbiological testing and animal handling and welfare requirements—are always publicly available.  We also post all of the results from microbiological testing of products and from animal handling and welfare audits performed by AMS on our website.  The data shows the quality of the products we purchase and the humane manner in which the animals were handled to make the products.

Another key to the success of the program is ensuring we can purchase from a robust pool of qualified vendors.  That’s why FSCSD, in collaboration with AMS Commodity Procurement, will soon be hosting the Vendors Outreach Webinar Series, a collection of free interactive training sessions on how to become an AMS-approved vendor.  The goal of the webinars is to assist potential vendors with the application process, aiming to increase the vendor pool.  This will help ensure that USDA programs and their recipients receive the best possible product while the government (and taxpayers) pays a competitive price for the foods.  Registration and other details about the upcoming webinars are available through our website.

Providing safe and nutritious foods to recipients of federal nutrition assistance programs is a tremendous responsibility, one that requires the best efforts of all involved, including the food producers, the purchasers and distributors, and those that develop, and oversee adherence to, purchase specifications.  FSCSD and AMS are proud to be a part of this partnership and will continue to ensure only the best possible products are reaching school lunch plates.

Allergy Sufferers May Soon be Able to Find a Peanut and Eat it Too

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Scott Elliott, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, on August 26, 2014 at 1:00 PM

Peanut allergy is one of the most common causes of food-related anaphylaxis and affects about 2.8 million Americans, including 400,000 school-aged children.

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.

Researchers at North Carolina A&T University (NC A&T) are on the verge of leveling the playing field for millions who suffer allergies from peanuts and wheat.  Now, in addition to being able to nosh on some of America’s favorite foods, allergy sufferers may also take advantage of the valuable nutrients these staples provide.

Peanut allergy is one of the most common causes of food-related anaphylaxis and affects about 2.8 million Americans, including 400,000 school-aged children.  Wheat is one of the top eight food allergens in the United States.

Dr. Jianmae Yu, a food and nutrition researcher at NC A&T’s School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, and her team found a way to treat peanuts and reduce their allergens by 98 to 100 percent.  The treatment is effective whether peanuts are whole, broken into pieces, or ground into flour.  Their research, which has proven effective in peanuts and shows promise in wheat, also has the potential to reduce foodborne allergens in tree nuts.

USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) supported the research with funding through an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant.  Based on the discovery, NC A&T has signed an agreement with a company to research the marketing potential of hypoallergenic peanut products and get them on store shelves in the near future.

Peanut allergies are triggered by proteins, some of which are more powerful than others, Yu said.  “Our research focused on reducing these allergenic proteins.  We found that treating peanuts with protein-breaking enzymes reduced allergenic proteins.”

The process consists of pretreating shelled and skinless peanuts with a food-grade enzyme. This post-harvest process does not change the peanut’s shape or cause lipid oxidation – a key consideration when determining a product’s shelf life.

Not only can treated peanuts reduce the severity of allergic reaction in the case of accidental exposure, Yu said they may also be used in immunotherapy.  “Under a doctor’s supervision, the hypoallergenic peanuts may be used to build up a patient’s resistance to the allergens in peanuts.”

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine performed skin prick tests to validate the research results on human test subjects.  “Peanuts are increasingly used in food products, which make it difficult for the allergic individuals to avoid accidental exposure. Therefore, it is very important for us to find a way to make peanuts less or non-allergenic,” Yu said.

“This research is also important because peanuts can be a valuable addition to a healthy diet,” said Dr. Jan Singleton, registered dietitian nutritionist and director of NIFA’s Division of Food Safety.

Peanuts are enriched with many healthful nutrients, including vitamin E.  Peanuts also contain riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, and folates as well as minerals like copper, manganese, potassium, calcium, Iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium.

Having achieved her goal of making peanuts safer to eat, Yu has turned her focus on other foodborne allergens – wheat.  By modifying the technology, her research is finding a significant reduction in the amount of the allergenic protein gliadin in wheat flour.  There are promising results from initial in vitro tests using plasma from people who are allergic to wheat flour.

Through federal funding and leadership for research, education, and extension programs, NIFA focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues impacting people’s daily lives and the nation’s future. For more information, visit www.nifa.usda.gov.

Bees Help Native American Students Learn about Math, Science

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Sean Adams, USDA Agricultural Research Service Information Staff, on August 26, 2014 at 11:00 AM

Native American high school students get “up close and personal” with honey bees at the USDA Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, Arizona, as part of their participation in the Native American Summer Institute, a long-running collaboration between the University of Arizona and the bee lab. The curriculum helps the students learn math and science as they use two of the lab’s computer models to learn about honey bee colony health and develop plans to start a beekeeping business.

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.

There’s nothing like a little “hands-on” activity to help students learn. And what better way to encourage math and science education than to give students an opportunity for the ultimate “hands-on” experience: working with honey bees.

That’s what Native American high school students are doing at the USDA Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, Arizona. At the lab, operated by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), researchers study honey bee nutrition and health to ensure that these insects can effectively pollinate billions of dollars’ worth of fruits and vegetables each year.

The students study at the Tucson lab through the Native American Summer Institute, which began in 1998 as collaboration between the University of Arizona and the ARS bee research center in Tucson.  The curriculum developed for the institute uses bees as a tool to help the students learn math and science. The students use two of the lab’s computer models, BEEPOP and BK-ECONOMICS, to learn about honey bee colony health and to develop plans to start a beekeeping business.

At the lab, the students put on bee veils and visit the apiary, seeing the bees up close and personal. They also learn about honey production, extract honey from the comb and bottle it. This year, there are 12 students participating in the program, which is already paying dividends, according to Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman, the lab’s research leader.

“One of the instructors in the program this year actually started as a student in the program, worked here at the bee lab, went to the University of Arizona, and got his degree,” she said. “Then he came back to work at the institute to help the students.”

Since the institute started in 1998, hundreds of students have participated in the program.   Some of them became interns at the Lab, according to DeGrandi-Hoffman. “We had about a dozen students this year,” she said. “It’s a great program and we are proud to be part of it.”

Creative Solutions to Ending School Food Waste

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Jimmy Nguyen, the Office of the Chief Economist, Office of Sustainable Development, on August 26, 2014 at 10:00 AM

Our nation’s schools play an important role in reducing food waste. Click to enlarge.

Americans waste enough food every day to fill a 90,000 seat football stadium. Approximately one-third of all food is wasted at the retail and consumer levels.  While research has shown that food wasted by children is similar to the rest of the U.S. population, there are many ways schools can reduce food waste and teach students about the impact it has on the environment and in their community.

At Chesterbrook Elementary School in McClean, VA, every student learns how to separate waste into categories like recyclables, food to be donated, upcycling bins, and general trash.  The school’s Eco Team, run by sixth graders, ensures their fellow students are putting waste into the correct bin. The team then collects, weighs, categorizes, and places the food to be donated into separate refrigerators, provided by the Food Bus, a non-profit organization that works with schools to donate food that would otherwise go to waste.

At the end of the week, PTA members or community volunteers deliver the food to the local food pantry.  In the 2013-2014 school year, the 12 schools that work with the Food Bus provided 13,502.6 pounds of food to their local food pantries.  These donations included packaged peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bananas and apples, yogurt, string cheese, containers of apple sauce and sliced peaches, granola bars, and cartons of milk.  The milk is especially welcome by food pantries since they lack other reliable sources for the product.

“I’ve taken countless cartons of milk to pantries over the past two years and mothers have taken the milk out of the bags before I have put them into the pantry refrigerator and opened them there on the spot and given them to their children.  Milk is expensive.” says Kathleen Weil, founder of the Food Bus.

Food waste and recovery is also incorporated into science lesson plans.  But there are other important takeaways as well according to Weil, “the children in the elementary schools are not only learning how to not throw away their food and add it to the national waste stream, but they’re learning that it can be used by someone who is hungry.  They are getting a little spark of community service now that may have an impact in their life and the lives of the many people around them when they are adults.”

Generally, six to eight months are needed to set up a food recovery program through Food Bus.  The process requires arranging for equipment needs, setting up a volunteer system and building a relationship with a local food pantry. It also involves a review of county rules and regulations on donations.

In the meantime, schools can curb plate waste with simple changes to school rules, especially in the cafeteria environment.  Studies have found that serving lunch after recess can reduce plate waste by as much as 30 percent.  In the cafeteria, tactics like naming vegetables (i.e. “creamy corn”) can increase its selection by 40 to 70 percent.  Another study, from the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement, found that introducing a “healthy options only” convenience line increased consumption of those nutritious items by 35 percent.  You can find other simple tricks tested by the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement.

There are many ways to reduce, recycle, and recover food waste in school cafeterias.  By implementing these ideas, schools play a vital role in scaling back the amount of food taking up precious landfill space.  More importantly, if a school uses food waste as a learning opportunity, it instills better habits in our young people and produces more civic-minded, community-conscious adults.

As Anne Rosenbaum, Science Specialist at Haycock Elementary School in Virginia says, “there are some kids who really have an affinity for the food donation.  They want to go to the food pantry to see how it works.  Their parents call in to help volunteer because the kids are so interested.  We laugh because our Eco Team and Eco Patrols get blue rubber gloves so that if they find people who have thrown something in the wrong bin they can put it in the right one.  They take their jobs really seriously.”

When your school implements a food recovery program or makes simple changes to increase consumptions and reduce food waste, you can share your story by joining the U.S. Food Waste Challenge.

Get Back, Give Back: Federal Retiree Begins New 'Career' with US Forest Service

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Bob Steelquist, Volunteer, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Service, on August 25, 2014 at 4:00 PM

Bob Steelquist retired from NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in May 2014 after a long public-service career that also included the National Park Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Puget Sound Water Quality Authority. He lives on the Olympic Peninsula, in Washington State, and recently began his second career as a volunteer with the U.S. Forest Service. (Courtesy Bob Steelquist). Forest Service photo.

After nearly 32 years of combined federal and state natural resource management public service, I retired.

I have been blessed with a rewarding career. But before that final day working in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary arrived, I had already applied for and been accepted as a volunteer wilderness ranger in the Pasayten Wilderness of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Washington State. It was the best promotion of my career.

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, backpacking in Oregon and Washington’s Cascade and Olympic Mountains. My career launched as a trail crew leader in Olympic National Park. Bachelor and master’s degrees followed and my career, particularly as “a Fed,” unfolded, channeling my energies, giving me lofty goals to aspire toward and feeding my family.

Recently, with retirement at hand, I decided to get back to the experiences that drew me to resource conservation work. As a youngster, I met Forest Service lookouts and rangers. They awed me. I got my first taste at age 21, as a trail hand. I loved that work. Soon marriage and family intervened. Then college and graduate school, developing professional skills in environmental policy and conservation education management and that long-lasting exciting and rewarding career.

Fast-forward to retirement: “I can do anything I want to do – including being a wilderness ranger!”

My volunteer work has brought me to a greater appreciation of the efforts that dedicated U.S. Forest Service people commit to every day. My experience on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest during an intense fire season also showed me the sacrifice that many endure to do the work they love. On my district, the 1.3 million-acre Methow Valley Ranger District, several co-workers lost their homes to the fires and saw their community suffer great hardship.

That’s where the give-back comes in. I’ve always been the type to lend a hand and public service has been a privilege to me. Now, with my time at my disposal, why not give back to a new cadre of dedicated colleagues and the American people and the forests they love as I do? The work is tougher on a 60-something than on the 20-something I started as, but it is even more rewarding now. It has reawakened my love working in the wilderness and reinvigorated my commitment to public service.

It’s my way to get back to the work that launched me and give back to the cause of conservation that serves all of us.

Back to School Gardening

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Annie Ceccarini, Program Manager, The People's Garden Initiative and USDA Farmers Market, on August 25, 2014 at 3:00 PM

The students will plant the raised beds over the next few weeks with easy to grow cool season crops like radishes and lettuce. To get the garden growing, Washington Capitals forwards Chris Brown (right with ball cap) and Stanislav Galiev planted one of the raised beds with kid-friendly herbs that are fun to touch, taste and smell like lavender, chocolate mint, German chamomile, rosemary, parsley, lemon thyme, wild watermelon salvia, and chives. Photo by Annie Ceccarini, USDA.

46,000 young people were welcomed back to DC Public Schools this morning for the 2014-2015 school year. And 168 students at Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School have a brand new school garden to get excited about! USDA’s People’s Garden team assisted Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation, which supports the charitable efforts of the Washington Capitals, Mystics and Wizards, with laying the groundwork for this project.

More than 100 volunteers painted, cleaned and gardened at Drew ES for DC Public Schools Beautification Day. The Red Rockers and Wizard Girls cheered on 30 USDA Executive Master Gardeners and a dozen Washington Capitals, Mystics and Wizards fans as they built a brand new school garden in the rain. The rainy weather did not dampen their commitment to help produce Washington’s healthiest next generation and in less than 3 hours the school garden was complete.

This marks the third time the People’s Garden Initiative has teamed up with the Washington Capitals to bring a school garden to a DC public school. In 2011 we designed and installed a habitat garden and outdoor learning area at Powell Elementary School and in 2012 expanded an existing food garden at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School.

Remember as summer vacation comes to an end, gardening doesn’t have to. In fact, fall is the ideal time to plant native plant species to attract wildlife. Consider starting a schoolyard wildlife habitat, a food garden, or both at your school. School gardens offer opportunities for fun and physical activity while serving as an important educational tool to help students understand how healthy food is produced and to connect with the natural world around them.

Before you start a school garden, read and download these step-by-step guides, which offer important information about how to safely grow your own fruits and vegetables with your students from Let’s Move and learn how to start a schoolyard wildlife habitat from National Wildlife Federation.

The garden is fenced with six raised beds that will be used by the school garden club to grow food and to create meaningful learning experiences for the students. Photo by Annie Ceccarini, USDA.

World's Best Soil Judgers Visit Washington, Meet Secretary Vilsack

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Amy Overstreet, Natural Resources Conservation Service Public Affairs, on August 25, 2014 at 2:00 PM

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack talks to winners of the 1st International Soil Judging Contest during their visit to USDA on Aug. 18. American college students took the top two places in the first ever international competition.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack hosted the world’s eight best soil judges last week after they earned the top spots at the 1^st International Soil Judging Contest in Jeju, South Korea, in June.  The Natural Resources Conservation Service Soil Science Division was actively involved in organizing the event and mentoring the winners. The first and second place teams, both from the U.S., along with their coaches, participated in a roundtable discussion with Secretary Vilsack and NRCS Chief Jason Weller to talk about soil judging, the importance of soil health, and careers in soil science. In addition, NRCS’ Landscape Architect, Bob Snieckus, led the students and coaches on a tour of USDA’s green projects, including the rooftop garden and The People’s Garden.

It was the first international soil judging contest, but soil judging in the United States dates back to at least 1960. The events involve the description, classification and interpretation of soil, with the main purpose of helping students recognize important soil and landscape properties and to consider these characteristics when deciding how to use soils. A contest involves “judgers,” or students interested in soil science, entering a soil pit to examine the profile. The judgers then determine where the different horizons are and describe each one, looking at factors such as soil type, color, depth, consistency, shape, structure and other features. The soil is classified, and site and soil interpretations are performed.

NRCS’ National Leader for Soil Interpretations Maxine Levin accompanied the students to Korea and was instrumental in organizing the inaugural competition. She said the impact of the international contest is monumental.

USDA landscape architect, Bob Snieckus, gave the world’s top soil judges a tour of USDA’s green projects, including the People’s Garden located on the National Mall.

“It has prompted a permanent change in the curriculum for soil science across the globe,” she said. “Soil judging is an important part of understanding soil, and it’s critical for students to have this hands-on experience in the field, as well as in the lab.”

During a ceremony for the soil judging champs, NRCS Associate Chief Leonard Jordan presented the students and coaches with certificates of appreciation signed by Secretary Vilsack. He thanked them for their contributions to furthering the study of soil science.

Students dig-in with their competition during the 1st International Soil Judging Contest held in Jeju, South Korea in June.

Supporting WIC Breastfeeding Moms and Improving Infants' Health

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Debra Whitford, FNS Director, Supplemental Food Programs Division and Anne Bartholomew, FNS Chief, Nutrition Services Branch, on August 25, 2014 at 1:00 PM

A WIC peer counselor provides encouragement to new mothers at a community breastfeeding support group in West Virginia.

To highlight the importance of a healthy start in life, more than 170 countries celebrated World Breastfeeding Week earlier this month.  Themed “Breastfeeding: A Winning Goal for Life,” the recognition encourages the practice to improve the health of babies around the globe.  The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) takes it a step further, recognizing the entire month of August as “National Breastfeeding Month.”

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service shares this commitment.  In fact, its Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (better known as WIC) promotes breastfeeding as the optimal infant feeding choice.  We support breastfeeding among WIC moms by providing counseling and educational materials, offering healthy food packages, and giving out breastfeeding aids, like breast pumps.

WIC also has peer counselors, mothers themselves, who share their personal experiences with breastfeeding to WIC moms.  They are trained to provide counseling and assistance to those with similar backgrounds such as language, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.  In WIC, peer counselors undergo training to provide mother-to-mother support in group settings and one-to-one counseling through telephone calls or visits in the home, clinic, or hospital.  Peer counselors are also very familiar with the resources available to WIC clients, understand questions a new breastfeeding mother is likely to ask, and recognize when to refer mothers to other resources during critical periods.

WIC’s successful Loving Support Makes Breastfeeding Work is the foundation of our breastfeeding activities.  The promotional campaign emphasizes the support of family and friends, the health care system, and the community as essential for a breastfeeding mother.

To further promote World Breastfeeding Week, FNS and the National Agriculture Library, Food Nutrition Information Center launched a new mobile-friendly website, http://lovingsupport.nal.usda.gov/.  The website offers easy access to a variety of Loving Support Makes Breastfeeding Work materials under four, diversity-sensitive categories – Moms, Family and Friends, WIC staff and Community Partners.

The birth of a child is an exciting time for a family and choosing how to feed your new baby is one of your most important decisions.  The WIC Program can help reach your breastfeeding goals, and with a little loving support we can foster a healthier next generation.

Citrus Trees: Move It AND Lose It

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Abby Yigzaw, Public Affairs Specialist, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), on August 25, 2014 at 10:00 AM

Help Save Our Citrus -- visit www.saveourcitrus.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Soon, citrus producing states across America, including Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana and Texas, will be full of fresh citrus. But gone are the days of sharing the fruit trees or seeds with friends and family out of state or even in the next county. It’s no longer as simple as packing it up and shipping it, or buying a citrus tree at a road side stand to bring home.

You’ve heard the saying “move it or lose it.” When it comes to citrus trees, it’s “Move It AND Lose It.” When you move citrus trees, you risk losing America’s citrus altogether – think breakfast with no fresh oranges, grapefruit or even juice.

Moving citrus trees is the fastest way that citrus diseases are spread. Four serious citrus diseases found in the United States include Huanglongbing (also known as citrus greening or HLB for short), citrus canker, citrus black spot and sweet orange scab. Learn more about each disease by visiting the What Are the Diseases section of the Save Our Citrus website.

When infected trees, fruit, clippings, equipment or even workers are moved to a new area, the disease comes with them. It’s not just commercial citrus that is susceptible to these diseases. Homegrown citrus trees can easily become infected and spread disease.

Move It AND Lose It: Five Things You Need to Know

1. Be Aware of Quarantines. Knowing where quarantines are is key to preventing the spread of disease.  For example, if your county is under quarantine for both the Asian citrus psyllid and citrus greening, this means that citrus cannot leave these counties. No citrus plants, fruit, equipment or items made with citrus (such as floral arrangements, wreaths, potpourri or seasonings like kaffir lime leaves) may be moved from quarantined areas. Not only are you risking spreading citrus diseases by transporting citrus outside of these areas, but it’s also against the law. Check our interactive quarantine map to learn what areas are under quarantine.
2. Inspect Citrus Plants Regularly for Diseases and Insects. Check citrus plants for signs of Huanglongbing and other citrus diseases. If you detect an infected plant, report it immediately.
3. Keep Homegrown Citrus at Home. Help reduce the spread of citrus diseases by not moving your homegrown citrus plants or fruits. Even if a tree looks healthy, don’t move it. This is the simplest yet most important thing for all Americans to do to protect our citrus.
4. Check Citrus Plant Suppliers. Be a savvy buyer. Only buy citrus plants from a reputable, licensed nursery.  Commercial fruit packers, Internet shippers and roadside vendors within regulated states should be able to show that they are in compliance with the federal quarantine. Before you buy, ask the vendor if their product is in compliance. If you buy a plant that is disease-free, you’ll have a much healthier, more productive tree.
5. Avoid Fines and Penalties. If you knowingly purchase citrus trees in violation of quarantine regulations and requirements, the penalties could range from $1,100 to $60,000 per violation. If you suspect citrus trees are being moved improperly, report your concerns to your USDA State Plant Health Director’s office; you can find contact information online at www.aphis.usda.gov/StateOffices.

Thank you for doing your part to stop the spread of citrus diseases. To learn more about the Save Our Citrus campaign, visit www.saveourcitrus.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Balloon Fest

Balloon Fest, August 9, 2014. Kansas City, KS.

Chicago Charter School Focuses on Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Dr. Janey Thornton, Deputy Under Secretary, Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, on August 21, 2014 at 10:00 AM

Allison Slade of Namaste Charter School in Chicago is an Alliance National School Ambassador. Photo credit: Dominic Arizona

As part of our Cafeteria Stories series, Allison Slade, Founder and Executive Director of the Namaste Charter School in Chicago, shares thoughts on why good nutrition is an integral component of a child’s education.  She credits the academic achievements of Namaste’s students not only to the academic structure itself, but also to the fresh, healthy meals that are a pillar of the school’s structure.  Thank you, Allison, for sharing your story.

Guest Blog By: Allison Slade, Founder and Executive Director of Namaste Charter School

I’ve worn many hats in many schools—I have been a Teach for America Corps member, a Kindergarten teacher, a mentor, a curriculum designer, a literacy specialist, and now at Namaste Charter School, a Founder and Executive Director. Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of reasons why schools should or should not make their students’ health a priority on campus.

When I was a teacher, I watched my students come to school with orange fingers from their cheesy snack food breakfast. By 10:00 a.m., my students were crashing; they couldn’t focus and they certainly couldn’t reach their highest potential, which is every teacher’s mission.

Ten years ago, I founded Namaste Charter School on Chicago’s Southwest side with the goal of combining rigorous academics with a commitment to health and wellness in one of the city’s toughest neighborhoods. Ninety percent of our students are Latino or African American, and more than 85 percent are eligible for free or reduced-priced meals through the federal government.

When I started, people said, “But kids won’t eat that!” about the healthy food options I proposed serving. I’m here to share that when you teach kids why eating fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, and whole grains is the best thing for their bodies, they really buy in. And when kids are burning energy with recess and brain breaks throughout the day, they have a healthy appetite when they sit down for lunch in the cafeteria—especially for tasty, freshly-prepared meals.

We also teach our students about the seasonality of food—and we conserve our food budget in the process by serving foods that are readily accessible through local vendors. It’s an important lesson for kids to know where their food comes from. They look forward to fresh corn at the start of the school year, and blueberries at its end.

Serving healthy meals at school is about much more than the bottom line. It’s about teaching kids how to develop lifelong healthy habits that will ultimately help them reach their greatest potential. We know what we’re doing at Namaste is working for our kids. Chicago Public Schools maps where our students would have gone to school if they were not at a charter school and uses a weighted average of the scores at those schools to compare with our students’ scores. Every year since we opened, we have outperformed our comparison school in reading, math, and science by over 10 percentage points!

The healthy meals we serve our students are fueling strong bodies and minds that will be able to transfer what they learn at school into lifelong healthy behaviors.

Glacier National Park Birthday

From the U.S. Department of the Interior:

Monday is the National Park Service 98th birthday & all entrance fees will be waived. Please share and like this photo to spread the word!

Photo of Glacier National Park: Marc Smith — atGlacier National Park.

Denali National Park Birthday

From the U.S. Department of the Interior:

Monday is the National Park Service 98th birthday & all entrance fees will be waived. Please share and like this photo to spread the word!

Photo from Denali National Park by Morton Katz — atDenali National Park and Preserve.

Yellowstone National Park

From the U.S. Department of the Interior:

A visitor enjoying both rain and a #sunset inYellowstone National Park.

Photo: Manish Mamtani (www.sharetheexperience.org)

Public Meeting in Chicago

From the National Park Service:

Chicago-area friends, hope you can join us! Tomorrow, National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis will be in Chicago for a public meeting on the potential for including sites in the Pullman neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side in the National Park System. The 6:30 p.m. meeting is open to the public and will be held at the Pullman Factory, 11057 S. Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago, IL.

Fishing Boats off Bangkok

From NASA's Earth Observatory:

Since he rocketed to the International Space Station (ISS) on May 29, 2014, American astronaut Reid Wiseman has been enjoying the sights. He has built an active following on Twitter by sharing photographs of a world he is seeing from space for the first time. Like many first-timers in space, he is also discovering some curiosities that most of us never see from the ground. On August 18, he tweeted the following photo and comment: “Bangkok is the bright city. The green lights outside the city? No idea…” Turns out, he was seeing light from fishing boats. Read more about this image athttp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/earthmatters/2014/08/19/fish-stories-from-the-iss/?src=fb

$33-an-hour babysitters teach art, clean up - Aug. 19, 2014

It seems like a parental dream: A college-educated babysitter shows up, leads your kids through homework, dinnertime and a masterpiece art project, cleans the house and then gives you a report card of how the evening went.

This dream can be a reality thanks to high-end babysitting services in New York City, but it comes at a price -- up to $33 an hour.

$33-an-hour babysitters teach art, clean up - Aug. 19, 2014

Yellowstone National Park

From Yellowstone National Park:

Sunrise snapshot: surrounded by the silence of steam rising, an angler plies the waters of Blacktail Pond.

Arches National Park

From U.S. Department of the Interior:

The majestic Park Avenue in Arches National Park.#Utah

Photo: Richard Briggs (www.sharetheexperience.org)— at Arches National Park.

Improving Hurricane Forecasts

From NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research:

This summer, NOAA scientists and partners are launching a number of new unmanned aircraft and water vehicles to collect weather information as part of a coordinated effort to improve hurricane forecasts. Read more at http://go.usa.gov/EHgm.

Several of these research projects and other NOAA-led efforts to improve hurricane forecasting were made possible, in part, because of the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013. The act was passed by Congress and signed by the President in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Among other things, funding provided by this act was intended to improve weather forecasting and weather research and predictive capability to help future preparation, response and recovery from similar events.

Photo: This image was taken from the Global Hawk, a NASA unmanned aircraft, that NOAA and NASA will use this summer and fall to obtain weather data on Atlantic hurricanes without placing a manned plane and its crew at risk. (NOAA/NASA)

Scene from the Rhine River

Along the Rhine River, Germany. November 2013.

Is Iceland's next volcanic eruption about to happen?

The Iceland Meteorological Office has increased the risk of an eruption at Bárðarbunga (or Bardarbunga) volcano, after hundreds of earthquakes were reported over the weekend. The risk level has been set to orange, which is the fourth-highest on a five-level scale.

Here we asked Dave McGarvie, a volcanologist at The Open University, to explain what we need to know.

Is Iceland's next volcanic eruption about to happen?

Summer Interns Help Serve the Public While Learning Real-World Skills

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Francies Stephenson, Natural Resources Conservation Service, on August 18, 2014 at 2:00 PM

NRCS interns met with Juan Hernandez, NRCS state conservationist for Maine, to learn more about the agency.

Interns at USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) bring new energy and insight to the workplace. Plus, internships equip students with real-world skills that will help them in their future careers.

Interns this summer had an opportunity to work in a variety of fields, including data analysis, accounting and staffing – all important facets of the nation’s private lands conservation agency.

Meet Cindy Lee, who worked as a management analyst intern in NRCS’ Office of Regional Conservationists. Lee is a recent graduate of the University of California, Irvine, where she studied political science and social policy.

“I chose NRCS because it is an agency that I have never worked with or heard of,” Lee said. “I had taken a course at my university regarding geographic information system how to make maps, so I was fairly excited when I got the opportunity to use it outside of the classroom.”

Lee collects and analyzes data and is working on a project related to new geographic information systems, or GIS. She continues to explore her passions and embraces new opportunities.  Lee aspires to work in D.C. and a master’s degree in public administration or public policy is on her radar.

Keandra Garner, a senior studying accounting Pennsylvania State University, worked with NRCS’ quality assurance team this summer.

She said she chose NRCS because it relates directly to her accounting program. She is learning about the intricacies of the details involved with the financial aspects of NRCS. She wants to move to California after graduating and to pursue a second bachelor’s in singing and a master’s in accounting.

Also an accounting major, Monica Rodriguez is a senior at the University of Texas at El Paso who is interning in financial management.

“I really enjoy working with the agency, and I try to show it with my best job performance,” Rodriguez said. “I benefit NRCS with my work enthusiasm and skills. I work hard, give my best, have a positive attitude and care about the agency.”

Like Garner, Rodriguez plans to get a master’s in accounting.

“I certainly hope your experience leads you to a tough decision for which you would take an interest in becoming more of a permanent fixture to this agency,” NRCS Associate Chief Leonard Jordan told a group of interns at a recent event.

To learn more about internships with NRCS, visit the Student and Recent Graduates webpage.

How Much Will It Cost to Raise a Child?

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Mark Lino, Ph.D., on August 18, 2014 at 1:00 PM

Today, USDA released its annual Expenditures on Children by Families report, also known as the “Cost of Raising a Child,” showing that a middle-income family with a child born in 2013 can expect to spend about $245,340 ($304,480 adjusted for projected inflation^*) for food, housing, childcare and education, and other child-rearing expenses up to age 18. The costs by location are lower in the urban South ($230,610) and rural ($193,590) regions of the country. Families in the urban Northeast incurred the highest costs to raise a child ($282,480).

USDA’s annual report, Expenditures on Children by Families, provides annual estimates for the cost of raising a child. This report provides families with an indication of expenses to anticipate, and is used by state and local governments in determining child support guidelines and foster care payments. Click to enlarge.

$15 million pours in from Ice Bucket Challenge - Aug. 18, 2014

Maybe you're getting a little tired of seeing your Facebook feed flooded with people pouring water on their heads.

But the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, is more than just another chance for folks to flaunt themselves on social media. The ALS Association said Monday that it has received $15.6 million in donations since July 29. That's up from $1.8 million raised during the same time period last year.

$15 million pours in from Ice Bucket Challenge - Aug. 18, 2014

USDA Tribal Collaboration Strengthens Food Security on Nevada's Indian Reservations

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Melissa Baker, Program Specialist, Food and Nutrition Service, Western Region Special Nutrition Programs, on August 18, 2014 at 10:00 AM

Sarah Adler, Nevada USDA Rural Development State Director, facilitates discussion between Federal, State, food bank, and Tribal partners. Photo credit to Jenny Taylor, Nevada USDA Rural Development.

Today in Nevada more than one in four children (28 percent) live in households that cannot reliably provide nutritious meals every day.  This dubious distinction makes it the state with the nation’s fourth highest rate of child hunger.  And for children living on Indian reservations, the incidence of hunger may be even higher.

What does food insecurity look like on Nevada reservations?  With few places to shop, reservation residents have very limited access to fresh produce.  Food insecurity not only equates to a lack of nutritious foods available, but also means families must drive great distances to a grocery store.  To cope, families choose more canned and frozen foods that will last until the next weekly or monthly shopping trip, which often means less consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.

To address these food challenges in rural Nevada, Beyond the Hub was established to address nutrition and health issues on nine American Indian reservations.  The education pilot, based on the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension in 2012, aligns with USDA’s StrikeForce Initiative in the state, which focuses on capacity building for Native American tribes.  The USDA Rural Development and the USDA Food and Nutrition Service collaborated to offer training to tribes on the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).  The training took place in Fallon, Nev., this past spring and included attendees from Walker Paiute Tribe, Pyramid Lake Tribe, Fallon Paiute Tribe and the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony.

Nevada Tribal partners participating in summer meals programs, (the Reno Sparks Indian Colony and Walker River Paiute Tribe) along with the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, shared experiences and important details with their peers.  It’s probably no surprise that the discussions generated a great deal of enthusiasm about programs that address food insecurity for children living both on and off Nevada reservations.

To find a summer feeding site in your area, please visit http://www.whyhunger.org/findfood or call the National Hunger Hotline (1-866-348-6479).

Head Start lead cook Raelynn Thomas of the Reno Sparks Indian Colony speaks as Sarah Adler, Nevada USDA Rural Development state director, facilitates discussion between federal, state, food bank, and tribal partners. Photo credit to Jenny Taylor, Nevada USDA Rural Development.