On Tuesday, January 13, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the National Research Council published A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System to aid in food and agriculture decision making. Sponsored by the JPB Foundation, this report outlines guiding principles and practical steps for stakeholders to weigh the varying tradeoffs associated with the vastly […]
Local & Regional Food Systems
Top 14 of 2014: A Look at This Year’s Key Victories for Sustainable Food and Farming
As 2014 comes to a close, we thought we would take a moment to recognize and celebrate this year’s victories for sustainable food and farming. Among the successes? From new or restored farm bill programs that are up and running, important progress on our campaign priorities, hill visits and hearings, and the release of our […]
Pilot Projects to Boost Local Fruits and Vegetables in School Meal Programs
On December 8, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that eight states have been selected to participate in the Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables, a 2014 Farm Bill provision allowing pilot states to purchase more produce from local farmers for their school meal programs. California, Connecticut, Michigan, New York, Oregon, […]
Arkansas Farmer Uses VAPG to Bring Back Heirloom Tomatoes
Note: This is the third in a three-part series providing a closer look at some of this year’s Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) award recipients. To read the other blog posts in this series, click here to read about how one organization used a VAPG award to expand online access to healthy food, and here to learn how […]
Local Food System Community Planning Awards Announced
On December 3, the White House Rural Council, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies, announced 26 communities in 19 states chosen to take part in the Local Food, Local Places Initiative. The new initiative provides technical support to help them develop and implement action plans promoting local food and downtown revitalization. […]
Release: NSAC Comment on Farm to School Award Announcement and Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization
December 2, 2014, Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced more than $5 million in grants for 82 projects in 42 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands through the USDA Farm to School Grant program, which promotes healthy kids through nutritious school meals and snacks incorporating food products from local […]
New Awards Will Strengthen Farm to School Programs
Local farmers, food businesses, and schools from 82 farm to school projects across the country received a boost today with the announcement of over $5 million in funding from the Farm to School Grant Program by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack. These grant awards will serve more than 13,000 schools and 2.8 million […]
Which Farms Have to Register with FDA?
The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new proposed food safety rules for food facilities apply to those facilities that are required to register with the government. Hence the question of who must register as a food facility with the FDA has been central to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) rulemaking process since it began […]
Dairy Farmer Uses Grant for Value-Added Cheese Production
Note: This is the second in a three-part series providing a closer look at some of this year’s Value-Added Producer Grant award recipients. To read the other blog post in this series, click here to read about how one organization used a VAPG grant to expand online access to healthy food. Few foods have the […]
New Report Finds Farmers Harmed by Decline in Nation’s Public Seed Supply
Everything starts with seeds. Sustainable and organic agriculture and local food systems depends on this critical first building block…. Read More →
Grant Announcement and Webinar on Co-ops and Local Food
Following closely on recent announcements about the Rural Business Enterprise Grant and Rural Business Opportunities Grant awards to support small businesses and economic development in rural communities, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development announced the latest round of grantees for the Rural Cooperative Development Grant program (RCDG) on Friday, October 24. The timing of […]
NSAC member organizations receive Rural Business Enterprise Grants from USDA
On Tuesday, October 21, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced 50 new Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG) for the 2014 fiscal year, including awards for two NSAC member organizations. Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) and National Hmong American Farmers (NHAF) each received RBEG awards from USDA’s Rural Development agency. The announcement follows an earlier […]
Farm to School In Action in the Nation’s Capital
Savory, steaming collard greens dished on a lunch plate. Hefty sweet potatoes being plucked from the ground. The pungent aromas of bright green herbs as they’re crushed in a mortar. These were just some of the Farm to School experiences children attending Walker Jones Education Campus and CentroNia Learning Community experienced near the nation’s capital […]
NSAC Member Organizations Partner to Support Specialty Crops
On October 2, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced over $66 million in Specialty Crop Block Grants (SCBG) administered through state departments of agriculture. The SCBG program provides state agriculture agencies with resources to support specialty crop growers through research, marketing, and production programs. This year’s announcement was paired with […]
FarmieMarket Uses Value-Added Producer Grant to Expand Online Healthy Food Access
Note: This is the first in a three-part series providing a closer look at some of this year’s Value-Added Producer Grant award recipients. You can buy almost anything online: clothes, books, electronics. And now, you can add local food to the list. FarmieMarket—an online farmers market in New York’s Capital Region—is bringing local food purchasing into […]
RMA Levels the Playing Field on Premium Subsidies for New Whole Farm Revenue Protection Insurance
On October 3, USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced that premium subsidy levels established for the new Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) crop insurance policy will be in line with the premium subsidies available to producers selecting whole-farm units under the Revenue Protection plans of insurance. If a farmer has two or more crops and meets […]
Farm to School Programs Create New Opportunities for Farmers
Guest Blog – Cross posted from the USDA Blog Posted by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, on October 2, 2014 at 3:00 PM This October, just like every other month during the school year, school menus will feature an array of products from local and regional farmers, ranchers, and fishermen. Kids of all ages will dig up lessons […]
New USDA Tools to Help Locate Local Food
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) unveiled new and updated tools to help consumers, producers, and community leaders find local food sources in their region. As part of the ongoing Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative, AMS presented new directories for three different types of local food sources and an updated version […]
Awards Promoting Local and Regional Farmers and Food Systems Announced
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced over $32.8 million in awards from three grant programs… Read More →
New Grant Funding Available to Encourage SNAP Participants to Buy from Local Produce Farmers
On Monday, September 29, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) released its very first request for applications (RFA) for the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentives (FINI) Grant program, a new competitive grants program created in the 2014 Farm Bill to improve the health of low-income communities while boosting economic opportunities for […]
Three Vermont Projects Receive USDA Grants to Promote Sustainable Agriculture and Local Foods
On September 12, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development agency announced almost $3 million in awards through the Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG) and Rural Business Opportunity Grants (RBOG) programs to promote sustainable economic development in rural regions. Eleven projects in New York, North Dakota, and Vermont received RBEG funding, totaling $1,258,825. RBOG funding went […]
FDA Revises Draft Food Safety Rules for Farms
On September 19, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released revised language for two major proposed rules detailing standards for farms that grow fresh produce (fruits and vegetables) and for facilities that process food for people to eat…. Read More →
Congress Extends 2014 Funding Levels through December 11
On Thursday, September 18, the Senate passed a short-term funding extension, known as a “continuing resolution” (CR), to fund the federal government through December 11. The CR extends fiscal year (FY) 2014 funding levels as well as policy provisions known as appropriations “riders.” The House passed this temporary funding measure earlier this week, and the […]
Farm Aid 2014: Making Policy Connections on North Carolina Farms
Decisions that legislators make in Washington, DC have real impacts on the ground in communities and on farms around the country. On Friday, September 12, 2014, several NSAC staff members toured several farms in and around Raleigh, North Carolina hosted by Farm Aid (an NSAC member) ahead of their 2014 Farm Aid Benefit Concert. The […]