May 3, 2011
On Tuesday, May 3, a new federal food, agriculture, and rural development policy initiative was launched by eight major foundations at a press event in DC. The new eight-year project will be aimed at “transforming US food and agriculture policy” with an equal focus on domestic and international impacts. It will be known as “AGree,” […]
April 29, 2011
Earlier this week The Atlantic held its annual Food Summit in Washington, DC. USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan gave the keynote address. Merrigan started by acknowledging that it is an exciting time for people working in the food and farm sectors since Americans are increasingly interested in where their food comes from, how it is […]
February 12, 2011
Post updated 2/15/11 Following a revolt by some of their rank and file on Thursday, House Republican leaders on Friday night released their draft bill to cut government funding for the remainder of the fiscal year that end September 3 by a significantly larger amount then they planned for earlier in the week. The bill […]
February 3, 2011
FoodCorps, a new national service program focused on addressing childhood obesity through building healthy school food infrastructure, will begin accepting applications for 2011-2012 service members early next week. FoodCorps is looking to recruit young adults for a yearlong term of public service beginning in mid-August 2011. The new program, an offshoot of Americorps, will work […]
January 27, 2011
On Wednesday, January 26, USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) released a Request for Applications (RFA) for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s (AFRI) Childhood Obesity Prevention Challenge Area. AFRI has yet to release FY 2011 RFAs for the remaining four Challenge Areas: climate change, food safety, global food security, and sustainable bioenergy. […]
January 20, 2011
On Thursday, January 20, Wal-Mart executives joined First Lady Michelle Obama in Washington, D.C. to announce the launch of a new five-year initiative to provide Wal-Mart customers with healthier, more affordable food options. The industry giant plans to reduce the prices of its fruits and vegetables and lower the amount of fats, sugars and salts […]
January 20, 2011
On Wednesday, January 19, the Worldwatch Institute celebrated the publication of its fifteenth State of the World report with an afternoon of speakers and panels centered on agricultural development, hunger, and poverty alleviation. The new report, State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet, focuses largely on agricultural innovations that reduce hunger, increase agricultural productivity, […]
January 18, 2011
USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) dribbled out two announcements last week on 2010 awards under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). AFRI is the largest of several NIFA competitive grants research, education and extension programs. On January 13, a grant award to Oregon State University for childhood obesity prevention in rural […]
January 18, 2011
On Thursday, January 13, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published revised nutrition requirements for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs in the Federal Register. The proposed changes, which are based on the recommendations in this 2009 report from the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine, would increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free and low-fat […]
December 2, 2010
On Thursday, December 2, the US House of Representatives passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, otherwise known as the Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) bill, by a vote of 264 to 157. Since the bill is identical to the one passed by the Senate in August, it will now be sent to President Obama for his […]
