Food

May 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC - Philadelphia area Congressional members met with Tom Vilsack, Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, to discuss the decision made by the Bush administration to terminate the Philadelphia Universal Feeding pilot program.

During the meeting, U.S. Senators Bob Casey and Arlen Specter and U.S. Representatives Chaka Fattah, Allyson Schwartz, Robert Brady and Joe Sestak urged Secretary Vilsack to reverse the decision to terminate the program which ensures 120,000 school children in the Philadelphia-area have access to nutritious meals.    » read more »

May 14, 2009 -- In honor of National Food Allergy Awareness Week, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter today signed into law a bill that will help teachers and parents better respond to students with severe food allergies. Senate Bill 226, sponsored by Sen. Paula Sandoval and Rep. Sara Gagliardi, will help schools provide quicker responses to incidents of anaphylaxis and other food allergy emergencies.

About 84 percent of Colorado schools enroll children with a known food allergy, and the numbers are increasing. "As the number of students with food allergies continues to grow, we must help teachers and parents create safe, responsive school environments," Gov. Ritter said. "This measure takes the appropriate steps to ensure every child feels safe."    » read more »

State Receives $1.1 Million for Food Assistance

May 12, 2009 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that the state has received approximately $1.1 million in federal stimulus funds for food assistance so that the two major food banks in Connecticut can buy more food to accommodate the increase of families and individuals in greater need this year because of the economic downturn.

“Connecticut Food Bank and Foodshare do an outstanding job year after year to combat hunger in Connecticut,” Governor Rell said. “Unfortunately, the struggling national economy has now made their mission all the more challenging and we are committed to doing everything we can to help.”    » read more »

More than $163 Million Helping Thousands of New Jerseyans

May 11, 2009 -- WEST TRENTON – New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine announced today that more than $28 million in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) benefits and State Food Purchase Program assistance will be distributed throughout the state beginning this week. The funding, part of the Governor’s Economic Assistance and Recovery Plan, includes $26.4 million for LIHEAP and $1.85 million for food assistance. This brings the total for assistance funds disseminated to over $156 million for home energy assistance and $7 million for food banks.    » read more »

Vilsack Discusses Agriculture Assistance with Pakistan and Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2009-Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced plans for $27.5 million in international assistance under USDA's Food for Progress Program for Pakistan and Afghanistan. Vilsack made the announcement at a meeting with Afghanistan's Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock H.E. Mohammad Asif Rahimi and Pakistan's Minister for Food, Agriculture, and Livestock Nazar Muhammad Gondal while meeting to identify potential areas of agricultural cooperation and collaboration among the three countries. The commodity donations will benefit an estimated 3 million people in rural areas of both countries.    » read more »

May 7, 2009 -- DES MOINES – Iowa Governor Chet Culver today sent the following letter to China’s Ambassador to the United States Zhou Wenzhong calling on Chinese Officials to allow for the importation of Iowa pork. The letter comes one day after China announced that it would no longer accept pork exports from Iowa over concerns of H1N1 influenza, though health officials both in the United States and across the globe have repeatedly said that eating pork is safe, and that one cannot contract the H1N1 virus from meat.

Below is the text of the letter sent to Ambassador Zhou:

Dear Ambassador Zhou,    » read more »

Purchases Target Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs

WASHINGTON, May 4, 2009 -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture's intention to purchase up to $25 million of dry beans and up to $16.3 million of processed apple products for federal nutrition assistance programs.

USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) purchases a variety of high-quality food products each year to support the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Summer Food Service Program, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program and the Emergency Food Assistance Program. USDA also makes emergency food purchases for distribution to victims of natural disasters.    » read more »

April 27, 2009 -- MADISON – Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle today announced that more commodities will be made available through The Emergency Food Assistance program (TEFAP) as a result of $2 million included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The funding will go directly to 16 organizations that administer the distribution of commodities to local food pantries, soup kitchens and homeless shelters.

“This money comes at a time we expect services will be in demand at an unprecedented level,” said Governor Doyle. “These funds make it easier for this program to provide food to people who have been affected by this difficult economy.”    » read more »

Lower sodium recommendation applies to almost 70 percent of American adults

March 26, 2009 -- Most Americans consume more than double the amount of their daily recommended level of sodium. A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that more than 2 out of 3 adults are in population groups that should consume no more than 1,500 milligrams (mg) per day of sodium. During 2005-2006 the estimated average intake of sodium for persons in the United States age 2 years and older was 3,436 mg per day.

A diet high in sodium increases the risk of having higher blood pressure, a major cause for heart disease and stroke. These diseases are the first and third leading causes of death in the United States.    » read more »

March 11, 2009 -- Consumer Federation of America welcomes the appointment of Dr. Margaret Hamburg and Dr. Joshua Sharfstein as commissioner and principal deputy commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Their resumes are extremely impressive and both are familiar with the FDA’s failure to protect the public from foodborne illness.    » read more »

Increase Will Help Nearly All 506,360 People Enrolled in FoodShare

March 09, 2009 -- MADISON – Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle today announced that Wisconsin will receive an estimated $110.6 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for Wisconsin’s FoodShare program. Starting April 1st, nearly all FoodShare participants will receive a 13.6 percent increase in their maximum food stamp benefit. FoodShare helps people with limited income buy the food they need for their families.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the final rule for the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) program will go into effect as scheduled on March 16th. He also released a letter inviting stakeholders to follow additional voluntary labeling practices. The rule, published in the Federal Register on Jan.15, 2009, has been under regulatory review by USDA pursuant to a Jan. 20, 2009, memorandum from the President's Chief of Staff.    » read more »

February 18, 2009 -- On February 17, 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Northwest Food Processors Association (NWFPA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work toward reducing industrial energy intensity 25% in 10 years. Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) Program Manager Douglas Kaempf and NWFPA President David Zepponi signed the MOU in Portland, Oregon, at the Northwest Industrial Energy Efficiency Summit. The MOU develops a framework for food processing and other manufacturers in the region to pursue opportunities for energy efficiency and directly supports DOE’s Save Energy Now initiative.    » read more »

February 10, 2009 -- NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- In support of a major nationwide United States Food & Drug Administration alert related to some peanut products suspected of causing salmonella food poisoning, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) continue to take precautionary and proactive measures.

As a precautionary step, state and federal officials suggest that residents, who received disaster-relief meals other than military meals-ready-to-eat (MREs), inspect the contents and throw away any item containing peanut products such as peanut butter or peanut butter crackers. To date, there have been no reported cases of illness among anyone who has received disaster-relief meals.    » read more »

July 17, 2008 -- At the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS) in Rome, the United States and more than 180 world leaders pledged to halve the total number of undernourished people worldwide from the 1990 level---a commitment that they reaffirmed in 2000 when they established the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), which included a target to halve the proportion or the percentage of the world's population that is undernourished by 2015.    » read more »