Category: Agriculture

USDA extends free school meals for all children

Washington, Oct. 16, 2020 — President Donald Trump proclaimed this week National School Lunch Week 2020, highlighting the vital role of school nutrition professionals in ensuring that children in all communities nationwide continue to get nutritious meals, despite the challenges posed by the current public health emergency.
To keep this work going, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue recently announced the continued extension of nationwide flexibilities that allow free school meals for all children throughout the entire 2020-2021 school year.

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USDA increases monthly SNAP benefits by 40%

(Washington, D.C., April 22, 2020) –Today, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced emergency benefit increases have reached $2.0 billion per month for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households across all 50 states and 3 territories to increase food security during the coronavirus national emergency.

These emergency benefits represent a 40% increase in overall monthly SNAP benefits, significantly increasing food purchasing power for American families.

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DHS, USDA move to protect American farmers and ensure continued flow of America’s food supply

The Department of Homeland Security, with the support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has announced a temporary final rule to change certain H-2A requirements to help U.S. agricultural employers avoid disruptions in lawful agricultural-related employment, protect the nation’s food supply chain, and lessen impacts from the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency.

These temporary flexibilities will not weaken or eliminate protections for U.S. workers.

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USDA Invests in the Expansion of Rural Education and Health Care Access

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2019 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Donald “DJ” LaVoy today announced that USDA is investing $42.5 million in 133 distance learning and telemedicine projects (PDF, 238 KB) in 37 states and two U.S. territories.

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