Today I participated in event with Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel to highlight the challenge of increasing access to healthy foods. It’s a conversation that I and others at USDA have had many times before. From small towns to big cities, people are talking about how to get more fresh, healthy food into their communities. Everywhere I go, parents ask how and where they can get fresh fruits and vegetables for their children. Schools ask for advice on sourcing healthier food for school meals. Shoppers ask where they can buy healthy foods in their neighborhoods.
According to the Institute of Medicine, 1 in 3 children and 2 out of 3 adults are overweight or obese. The percentage of obese adults in the United States is expected to reach 42 percent by 2030. More than 20 million Americans have diabetes, and 79 million are pre-diabetic. Our nation’s children may be the first American generation to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents’, due in large part to obesity-related diseases . In addition, the economic costs of obesity and related chronic health issues are staggering at an estimated $147 billion per year in direct costs, and billions more if indirect costs such as lost productivity are included. Read more »
Tags: Camden, DGA, Harrisburg, Institute of Medicine, KYF2, Louisiana, MyPlate, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rahm Emanuel, School Lunch, SNAP
Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food
![Bill Wehry, (left) USDA Farm Service Agency State Executive Director for Pennsylvania addresses the audience at the Pennsylvania Biofuels Summit Bill Wehry, (left) USDA Farm Service Agency State Executive Director for Pennsylvania addresses the audience at the Pennsylvania Biofuels Summit](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121019145026im_/http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1382/5164289064_d54a2b23f4.jpg)
Bill Wehry, (left) USDA Farm Service Agency State Executive Director for Pennsylvania addresses the audience at the Pennsylvania Biofuels Summit
Over 50 biofuel stakeholders and agricultural leaders participated in Pennsylvania’s Biofuels Forum on October 27th. Read more »
Friday, a beautiful spring day in Pennsylvania, it was my pleasure to welcome Secretary Vilsack and his wife Christy to Pennsylvania for a tour and rural discussion. We started the day at Middletown Biofuels for a facility tour along with Congressman Tim Holden and other local and state officials. Middletown Biofuels recently received over $17,000 from USDA for producing biodiesel fuel from soybean oil. The facility is located in the heart of Pennsylvania’s agricultural industry, providing ready access to soybean and other vegetable oil feedstocks. We then traveled to the state capitol in Harrisburg where the Secretary announced that in Pennsylvania, the Recovery Act has guaranteed $35.6 million in business loans that are expected to save or create more than 450 jobs. In total, USDA has provided loan guarantees to 350 U.S. businesses in the last seven months that will create or save nearly 23,500 jobs. Read more »
Tags: ARRA, Biofuel, Farmers, Harrisburg, loan, Middletown, Middletown Biofuels, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Russell Redding, Tim Holden, Tom Vilsack
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Rural Development