January 2011

In the middle of winter, Americans love having a reason to get together and celebrate a very American tradition—the Super Bowl. Every year, groups gather into cozy houses, crowd around buffet tables and television sets, and watch to see what NFL team will be deemed “best.” All of this crowding and sharing, while fun, presents an easy opportunity for foodborne illness to strike.

Super Bowl parties are often potlucks, with guests traveling with food in their car, or they may be the first time a 20-something hosts a meal at his house. Also, people may not want to miss the next big play to head to restroom to wash their hands. All of these scenarios are good reason to really pay attention to the food safety playbook: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill.

As an employee of the Food & Nutrition Service, I see firsthand the war that is waged on hunger every single day. The number of families across the country that are food insecure is cause for concern, but we are working daily to reduce those numbers. And it’s working. Starting with generous donations of food and funds supplied through numerous federal feeding programs, people nationwide are privy to not just any food, but healthy, nutritious food.

And it happens on the local level as well. In the Southwest Region of the United States, there are local partners fighting hunger in fresh and innovative ways, seeing to it that the graciously donated food items make it to as many families in need as possible.

Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the selection of 24 university students who will attend USDA’s 2011 Agricultural Outlook Forum February 24 and 25. The Forum titled, “Today’s Strategies & Tomorrow’s Opportunities,” is USDA’s largest annual event and will be held this year in Arlington, Virginia. The finalists include students from Land-Grant, Hispanic Serving Institutions, American Association of State Colleges of Agriculture and Renewable Resources institutions who are the recipients of corporate and USDA sponsorship aimed at promoting the education of the next generation of agriculturalists.

Last night I had the privilege of attending President Obama’s State of the Union speech.  In it, he laid out some of the challenges America faces moving forward as we compete with nations across the globe to win the future.

The President’s vision is simple.  We need to be a nation that makes, creates and innovates so that we can expand the middle class and ensure that we pass along to our children the types of freedoms, opportunities and experiences that we have enjoyed.

Most people who are interested in local food know that farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) are great ways to buy products from local farms and vendors. But are there other ways that local food moves from producers to consumers? It turns out that a great variety of food supply chains are capable of delivering locally produced foods to consumers. Studying these supply chains offers an interesting peek into the future of local foods in the United States.

The organization “Community Rebuilds” along with USDA Rural Development recently welcomed Sascha Pastler and Colleen Jarrett into their newly completed straw bale home.  A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at their front door.   The large crowd attending was soon invited inside to see the first USDA funded straw bale home in Utah.

Cross posted from the White House blog:

At President Obama’s direction, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) is working hard to unleash the power of America’s innovators and entrepreneurs to build a green energy economy.   By producing renewable energy – especially biofuels – America’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities have incredible potential to help ensure our nation’s energy security, environmental security, and economic security.  Here are just some of the ways USDA is involved in helping create green energy jobs for the 21st century:

Air carriers, farmers, fuel refiners and government leaders met in Columbus, Ohio,  recently to explore the future of aviation fuels made from farm-grown energy crops. Hosted by USDA’s Ohio Rural Development office and the Ohio Aerospace Institute, representatives of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) and the Air Transport Association briefed Ohio stakeholder groups and state and federal officials on efforts underway in the airline industry to create a clean, reliable and cost-competitive supply of renewable jet biofuels to bring stability to petroleum-based aviation fuel market.

Today, I joined China’s Ambassador to the United States Zhang Yesui to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to construct a classical Chinese garden at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. This garden will illustrate the commitment our two countries have to horticulture, science and the arts and will serve as a testament to our countries’ celebrated cultural histories, delighting visitors for generations to come. I was pleased to join Ambassador Zhang and Madame Jiang Zehui to help turn this symbol of bilateral friendship into a reality. Madame Jiang Zehui is the executive director for the Chinese side for the China Garden.

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) recently hosted “Grant Opportunity: Enhancing the Competitiveness of Specialty Crops” (use Playback option to hear webinar), the seventh in a series of webinars designed to educate the general public about federal fruit and vegetable programs.