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    Food and Nutrition SecuritySharePrint Friendly Email Twitter Facebook
    
    Food and Nutrition Security
      Food Loss and Waste
          Local and Regional Food Systems
          Nutrition
          Nutrition Education
          Nutrition and Food Systems
          Obesity
          WellnessAdvancing food and nutrition security is a core priority of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department is taking a whole-of-Department approach to accelerating progress on the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health and corresponding National Strategy goals to end hunger, improve nutrition and physical activity, and reduce diet-related diseases and disparities. Through research, education, and extension, NIFA contributes towards these efforts in the following ways:By the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Security Four Pillar Approach which is informed by NIFA’s research investments, among other USDA’s research activities:Meaningful SupportHealthy FoodCollaborative ActionEquitable SystemsBy the National Strategy Five Pillar Approach:Improve Food Access and AffordabilityIntegrate Nutrition and HealthEmpower All Consumers to Make and Have Access to Healthy FoodSupport Physical Activity for AllEnhance Nutrition and Food Security Research**What is Food and Nutrition Security?****Food security** for a household means access by all members at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food security includes at a minimum:The ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foodsAssured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (that is, without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing, or other coping strategies)Building on and complementing our long-standing efforts to address food security, the USDA is expanding our efforts to advance food and nutrition security. **Nutrition security** means all Americans have consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, affordable foods essential to optimal health and well-being. Our approach to tackling food and nutrition insecurity aims to:Recognize that structural inequities make it hard for many people to eat healthy and be physically active; andEmphasize taking an equity lens to our efforts.Importance of Food & Nutrition SecurityFood insecurity creates enormous strain on worker productivity, healthcare spending, and military readiness and disproportionately impacts racial/ethnic minority populations, lower income populations, and rural and remote populations. The USDA Economic Research Service (ERS)noted food insecurity rates peaked at 14.9% in 2011 and dropped slowly to 10.5% in 2019 – illustrating the length of time – about 8 years – that it took to return to pre-recession (2007) levels. During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Census Bureau reported how food insecurity and food insufficiency was a challenge and disproportionately impacted communities of color, lower-income communities, and rural/remote communities. Often, food insecurity and diet-related chronic diseases co-exist. Diet-related chronic diseases are the leading causes of death in this country and disproportionately affect communities of color, lower-income communities, and rural/remote communities. Ensuring food and nutrition security for everyone in this country will require a better understanding of the complex causes and corresponding solutions of food insecurity and diet-related illnesses and **disparities**. As detailed on our Nutrition and Food Systems Topic Page, NIFA’s approach to advancing food and nutrition security supports the convergence of science and technology needed to transform our food system to shorten supply chains, optimize agricultural productivity, minimize negative environmental impacts, and ensure a resilient, flexible food system that is safe, affordable, and nutritious.NIFA’s ImpactNIFA recognizes nutrition as a cost-effective approach to address many of the societal, environmental, and economic issues faced across the globe today. NIFA works to ensure a safe, nutritious, and secure food supply while also developing, delivering, and disseminating evidence-based **nutrition education** and promotion to prevent chronic diseases, improve health, and prioritize **nutrition security**. NIFA partners with the Land-Grant University System and government, private, and non-profit organizations to support science. Our agency also invests in developing nutrition scientists across all stages of professional development to use an integrated approach to prioritizing nutrition security and ensuring sustainable agricultural systems through research, education, and extension. NIFA invests more than $220 million in research, education, extension, and innovation to advance USDA’s goal to tackle food and nutrition insecurity.NIFA aims to help prioritize nutrition security by focusing on:**Using Innovative Trans-Disciplinary Solutions to Promote Healthy Eating Patterns and Behaviors**to tackle the “whole picture” regarding underlying factors and most promising strategies.**Harnessing a Holistic Research Agenda, from Farm to Fork**working along every link of the food chain to build a more sustainable, resilient, equitable and nourishing food system, including:Production (e.g., agroecology, community and home food gardening, urban agriculture, farmers’ markets, regional food systems)Preparation (e.g., ensuring sufficient, safe, and nutritious food preparation in culturally, contextually, and economically sensitive ways including disaster preparedness)Promotion (e.g., Fostering a circular economy in rural areas by promoting local and regional food supply chains)Consumption (e.g., enabling positive and sustained healthy eating behavior to decrease the health and financial burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases and health disparities)Increase access to and improve the nutritional quality of our federal nutrition safety netDisposal (e.g., limit food waste while ensuring food safety)**Integrating with****Climate-Smart Agriculture** on transformative discoveries, education, and engagement.**Engaging Individual, Family, and Community Agency and Capacity** **Building**The following NIFA Topic pages further explain our efforts to prioritize nutrition security (stay tuned a few pages are under development):Climate ChangeFood Loss and WasteFood ScienceFood QualityFood SafetyNutrition and Food SystemsSustainable AgricultureGlobal Food SecurityKey NIFA nutrition security programs include:Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP)Community Food ProjectsFood and Agriculture Service Learning Program (FASLP)Agricultural and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) A1344 Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic DiseasesNIFA also supports additional programs that help prioritize nutrition security:4-H Youth Development Program1890 Institution Teaching, Research and Extension Capacity Building Grants (CBG) ProgramAlaska Native-Serving and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNH) Competitive Education Grants ProgramHispanic-Serving Institutions Education Grants Program (HSI)Resident Instruction Grants for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas (RIIA) ProgramsTribal Extension Grant ProgramFederally-Recognized Tribes Extension ProgramA1364 Novel Foods and Innovative Manufacturing TechnologiesA1531 Biorefining and BioengineeringA1641 Economics, Markets and TradeA1642 Social Implications of Food and Agricultural TechnologiesA1712 Rapid Response to Extreme Weather EventsA1721 Extension, Education & USDA Climate Hubs PartnershipA1741 Center for Research, Behavioral Economics, and Extension on Food Loss & WasteA9201 Sustainable Agricultural SystemsBeginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP)Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR)CYFAR 4-H Military Partnership Professional Development & Technical Assistance (CMPC-PDTA)Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans (AgVets)Master Gardener Program, as well as Master Health and Master Food Preserver ProgramsNational Center for Home Food PreservationNew Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE)Organic Agriculture Research and Extension InitiativeRegional Rural Development CentersRural Health & Safety EducationSmall Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) ProgramUrban, Indoor, and Emerging AgricultureWIC Workforce Development InitiativeIntegrating Youth PerspectiveOur efforts aim to foster youth voice and integrate youth perspective where possible. Learn more from these relevant resources:NIFA 4-H Youth Development ProgramNational 4-H Conference | National Institute of Food and Agriculture (usda.gov)2024 National 4-H Conference Information Session | National Institute of Food and Agriculture (usda.gov)ASCEND for Better Health | Nutrition.govEngagement | Nutrition.govYouth Perspectives on Food, Nutrition, and Health, Washington, DC | Nutrition.govIndigenous Traditional Ecological PerspectiveAcross all of our efforts, we are prioritizing the integration of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility principles. We have also elevating the importance of integrating Indigenous Traditional Ecological Perspective. We are also working to help build the evidence base and translate the evidence into action for promoting Indigenous Food Sovereignty. Learn more from these relevant resources:USDA-DOI Treaty DatabaseTepary Beans resourceIntertribal Buffalo CouncilReturning Buffalo with Native Nations ForumWhite House Releases First-of-a-Kind Indigenous Knowledge Guidance for Federal AgenciesNational Park Service Indigenous Knowledge and Traditional Ecological KnowledgeFirst NationsASCEND for Better Health: Building a Healthy Community Together, BismarckUnited Tribes Technical College, Health & WellnessUSDA ARS, North Great Plains Research LaboratoryGreat Plains Tribal Leaders’ Health Board Good Health & Wellness**Learn more listening to our****NIFA Nutrition Security Webinar Series**.**Consumer Resources** – USA.gov Government Benefits explains how to apply for and find social support programs, including nutrition assistance. Nutrition.gov is a USDA sponsored website that offers credible information to help you make healthful eating choices.**Nutrition Professional Resources** – The USDA National Agricultural Library’s Food and Nutrition Information Center provides access to a range of  resources from both government and non-government sources.**Nutrition Security Research Resources** – The USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) conducts economic research on numerous topics central to food and nutrition security and provides links to selected ERS research and resources on these topics.

  Programs
    About EFNEP
              AFRI Education and Workforce Development
              AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program
              AFRI Sustainable Agricultural Systems
              Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)
              American Rescue Plan Technical Assistance Investment (ARPTAI) Program
              Capacity Grants
              Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program (CFPCGP)
              Equipment Grants Program (EGP)
              Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)
              Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program
              Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health Program Area
              From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals (NextGen)
              Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP)
              Health and Wellness
              Hunger and Food Security Programs
              Nutrition Programs
              Obesity Prevention and Healthy Weight Programs
              Rapid Response to Extreme Weather Events Across Food and Agricultural Systems (A1712)
              Regional Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Centers of Excellence (RNECE)
              Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer Programs (SBIR/STTR)
              Supplemental Nutrition Education Program - Education (SNAP-Ed)
              The Hatch Act of 1887
              Urban, Indoor, and Emerging Agriculture
              WIC Workforce Development Initiative

  Funding Opportunities
    Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Education and Workforce Development
              Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases
              Tribal Colleges Extension Program: Special Emphasis
              Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Foundational and Applied Science Program
              The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program - Nutrition Incentive Program
              Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants Program
              Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program
              Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification Program
              Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network
              Equipment Grant Program
              Tribal Colleges Education Equity Grants (TCEG) Program
              The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program - Produce Prescription Program
              National Plant Diagnostic Network for the Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative
              The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program Nutrition Incentive Program - Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Centers
              Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children – National Workforce Strategy Development Return to top
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