Coming Together to Improve Human Nutrition

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Isabel Walls, Senior Advisor, Food Safety, Nutrition and Health, on April 1, 2014 at 3:00 PM

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 the USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

During the month of April we will take a closer look at USDA’s Groundbreaking Research for a Revitalized Rural America, highlighting ways USDA researchers are improving the lives of Americans in ways you might never imagine. For example, USDA research into behavioral economics as part of nutrition research to improve diet and health.

We’ve heard it all before: you are what you eat.  We’re fueled by what we consume, so it’s important to provide our bodies with nutritious food.  That’s why the agencies within USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area brought together some of the brightest minds at the Federal Government Nutrition Research Workshop last month. USDA Scientists joined forces with scientists and policy makers from other USDA agencies, Health and Human Services agencies, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the U.S. Agency for International Development to discuss the importance of nutrition research.

Despite the snowy weather, Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for REE Cathie Woteki kicked off the conference of eager participants.  Through a series of short talks and discussion, the group shared information on key topics affecting the diet and health of Americans.

A major emphasis is to investigate how Federal dietary guidelines can promote health, and reduce the risk of chronic disease and obesity. REE research is using cutting edge techniques to study this challenge. The research findings will help us understand individual responses to nutrition, for example, why some people lose weight faster than others on the same diet.  This will help develop new education strategies for improving diet and health.

Good eating habits are challenging for most of us.  So, the meeting participants paid close attention to the role of behavioral economic strategies in improving consumer choices for healthy foods.  And for young people, the decision may be even more difficult.  For example, how do we encourage children to choose healthy lunch options rather than eating candy from a snack machine?  Our research suggests that making healthier foods more visible and accessible to kids, having shorter lines/faster service for healthier choices and giving catchy names like “Rockin Broccoli” can all help encourage kids to eat more healthy foods.

Interagency working groups will continue the discussions started at the conference and improve collaborations among US Government Scientists.  “It was a wonderful opportunity to exchange information and plan for future collaboration,” noted Cheryl Jackson Lewis from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service.

Working Together to Bring Healthy Foods to Communities in Need

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Doug McKalip, Senior Policy Advisor for Rural Affairs at the White House Domestic Policy Council, on March 26, 2014 at 12:00 PM

Cross posted from the White House Rural Council Blog:

Recently, representatives from the White House Domestic Policy Council, the US Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of the Treasury joined representatives from various community projects from around the country to discuss how to increase healthy food access to communities in need.  The event included representatives from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, the Food Research and Action Center, Policy Link, and the Fair Food Network.

Participants shared their stories of success, and what we can do to encourage more healthy foods in these communities.  For example:

Mary Donnell, the Executive Director of Green City Growers Cooperative, spoke about her urban greenhouse project in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. After its inception in 2012, Green City Growers has become the largest food production greenhouse in a core urban area in the United States. The cooperative manages over three acres of urban space and employs twenty-five people from the community. It produces over three million heads of lettuce annually, which is then distributed to Cleveland’s most distressed neighborhoods. The organization creates jobs in Cleveland while providing nutritious food to food deserts across the city, one of this Administration’s key goals.

Gray Harris, the director of the Sustainable Agriculture Programs at CEI, shared her organization’s story as a Community Development Financial Institution in rural Maine. As a CDFI, CEI invests in community based projects contributing to local economies.  CEI’s specific expertise is in strengthening the local food supply chain to increase healthy food access across New England.  CEI has invested in nearly 300 food system projects, and it maintains a current active $6.2 million loan portfolio for food system investments. These investments help farms in Maine to stay in production, despite recent stressors on farmers.

One last story that really exemplified President Obama’s commitment to increasing access was presented to the group by Todd Chessmoore, the Superintendent of the Cody-Kilgore School District in Cody, Nebraska. Cody is a town of just 150 people, and for over a decade its residents, many of whom are lower income or elderly, had to drive over 30 miles to buy groceries. In order to eliminate this food desert, the Cody-Kilgore School District opened its own student run and operated Circle C grocery store, the town’s only dedicated food retailer.

These stories were just a few we heard during this event, emphasizing the unique and innovative work being done across the country to enhance health and access to food for folks from all walks of life. The Obama Administration has made increasing healthy food access a priority. In partnership with the White House, the Department of Treasury, HHS, and USDA have been working collaboratively to support innovative strategies to increase healthy food access.

One such strategy is the Health Food Financing Initiative or HFFI.  The recently signed Farm Bill authorizes an HFFI program at USDA and the President’s most recent budget proposal includes a request of $13 million for this work.  The initiative will provide financial and technical assistance to eligible fresh, healthy food retailers for the purposes of market planning and promotion efforts as well as infrastructure and operational improvements designed to stimulate demand among low-income consumers for healthy foods and to increase the availability and accessibility of locally and regionally produced foods in underserved areas.

This program will help USDA to continue collaboration with other federal partners to ensure that communities in need have access to fresh, healthy, affordable food. It will expand healthy food access for families on SNAP – some 46.6 million individuals in 2012, the vast majority of whom are children, elderly or living in households where members were employed in low-wage jobs.

A particular focus for USDA will be the expansion of healthy food options in rural areas, which often lack grocery stores and other retail outlets. HFFI will allow USDA and our partners to support creative strategies to increase access to healthy foods in Rural America.

The USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative also coordinates work on local food investments, including distribution, which is a key element of increasing healthy food access.  The White House Rural Council is making healthy food access in rural communities a priority, as it impacts the future health and economics of rural America.

USDA Partners with a Michigan Town to Improve Quality of Health Care

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USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Alec Lloyd, Michigan Rural Development Public Information Coordinator, on August 23, 2013 at 3:00 PM

Michigan U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow speaks at the ground-breaking for the new USDA-supported Cassopolis Family Clinic. USDA photo.

Cassopolis, located in southwest Michigan, recently celebrated the ground-breaking for the new USDA Rural Development supported Cassopolis Family Clinic.  Like many rural communities, Cassopolis has limited facilities for health care, particularly for low-income residents.  The Cassopolis Family Clinic was founded more than 50 years ago to serve the surrounding community and the facility will bring that service into the future.

USDA Rural Development was represented at the event by Paw Paw Sub-Area Office Team Leader Lisa Epple, who was joined by local leaders and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow.

“This is an excellent example of how USDA Rural Development is working with partner agencies to improve access to health care for Michigan residents,” Epple said.  The agency is providing a Community Facilities direct loan to fund the project which is being combined with a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.

“Today’s groundbreaking is welcome news for families in Cassopolis and across Cass County,” said Stabenow, chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.  “For almost 50 years, the Family Clinic has served as the family doctor for so many residents in need of basic medical care. I am pleased that this brand new clinic will provide physical, mental, and dental health services to thousands of additional patients for years to come.”

For rural areas, a local clinic can mean the difference between a lengthy drive to the emergency room and timely care.  By partnering with the Cassopolis Family Clinic and HRSA, USDA Rural Development is helping to keep quality health care close to home.

Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow (sixth from left) joins officials in breaking ground for a new health care facility funded in part by USDA. USDA photo.