By US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to testify before the House Committee on Education and Labor on the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act.  Every five years, Congress considers improvements to the Child Nutrition Act, which provides assistance to feed tens of millions of programs through the National School Lunch, School Breakfast, and Summer Food Service Programs. Read more »

By Lori Duff, USDA Public Affairs Specialist New Hampshire

The town of Peterborough, New Hampshire has been working diligently to upgrade its wastewater treatment facility for the town’s 6,222 residents since 2000 – when they learned that Environmental Protection Agency requirements for treatment plants were changing. By 2006 the need was critical. Read more »

Written by Dawn Knepp, Pennsylvania USDA Public Information Officer

In a small, quaint housing development in south-central Pennsylvania, families are realizing the American dream of homeownership with the help of a unique government program.  USDA Rural Development’s Self-Help Housing Program provides mortgage financing to the homeowner and a technical assistance grant to a non-profit agency, in this case, Interfaith Housing Alliance. Interfaith supervises the homeowners who do much of the building of their own homes. To date, 20 families have completed homes and moved into the 39 lot development. Read more »