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Strategic Objective

Promote Healthy Diet and Physical Activity Behavior

Strategic Objective

Themes:

Health

USDA.gov

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Overview
Progress Update

Overview

The Administration has set a goal to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight. The First Lady’s Let’s Move! campaign has been central to this effort, and USDA will continue to play a critical role in its success. In addition, USDA is fighting to reverse the rapid increase in childhood obesity by improving school meals and the school nutrition environment. On school days, children who participate in both the breakfast and lunch programs consume as many as half of their calories at school. The Department must ensure that all foods served in school contribute to good health, and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act provided new authority to set common-sense nutrition standards for food sold throughout the school day. USDA will work with schools to implement the new standards for all foods sold in school, and will continue to support ongoing implementation of updated school meals nutrition standards.

USDA is also encouraging and supporting WIC mothers to breastfeed their infants by strengthening breastfeeding policy and program activities. Breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of numerous health problems for both mother and infant. It also may have a protective effect against pediatric overweight and obesity. Breast milk provides the best source of infant nutrition and helps infants get a healthy start in life. USDA will recognize and reward State achievements in promoting breastfeeding through performance awards, expand the availability of peer-counseling in WIC clinics, and continue its core promotion and support activities.

Furthermore, USDA is working to double the number of Americans who eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Too many Americans simply do not eat enough of these nutrient-dense foods to support good nutrition. The Department establishes evidence-based nutrition guidance, the basis for which is the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), which are developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Department is also working to improve access to healthful, locally produced food in under-served communities through a multifaceted strategy that focuses on food production, distribution, and both traditional and non-traditional retail options. Through research and technical and financial assistance, the Department will help producers produce, distribute and market healthy foods locally. The Department will also encourage additional farmers markets in low-access areas to become authorized SNAP vendors, equip markets to accept SNAP through electronic benefit transfer (EBT), work with local and private partners to test and expand the use of incentive programs for healthy food purchases, and promote greater use of farmers markets by SNAP participants. Through its farm-to-school efforts, USDA also connects schools with regional and local producers to increase producers’ market opportunities as well as young people’s access to healthy, local foods.

To improve Americans’ physical activity behaviors, USDA is promoting the use of the Nation’s public lands. Most Americans need to move more to promote their health and well-being and improve the energy balance between the calories they consume and those they expend. National forests and grasslands are America’s backyard, offering chances to increase physical activity. Over 90 million National Forest System visitors participate in outdoor-based physical activities each year. USDA will promote the use of these lands and facilities to nurture the body and mind in natural settings near local communities. The Department also will increase access to green space through such programs as the Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry program.

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Progress Update

ACHIEVEMENTS: USDA is committed to supporting local food systems and expanding access for SNAP participants’ to healthy foods. For that reason, USDA has made it a priority to increase the availability of SNAP at farmers’ markets by using FY 2015 funds to provide grants to entities working with the farmers’ market community to provide markets with different types of assistance.

CHALLENGES: USDA Food Nutrition Service (FNS) continues to face several challenges to increasing the availability of SNAP at farmers’ markets. For example, FNS must identify farmers’ markets and direct-marketing farmers who are eligible to participate in SNAP; successfully encourage markets and farmers to become SNAP-authorized; and provide technical assistance.

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Strategic Goals

Strategic Goal:

Ensure that All of America's Children Have Access to Safe, Nutritious, and Balanced Meals

Statement:

Ensure that All of America's Children Have Access to Safe, Nutritious, and Balanced Meals

Strategic Objectives

Improve Access to Nutritious Food

Statement:

Improve Access to Nutritious Food

Description:

USDA’s domestic nutrition assistance programs serve one in four Americans annually. The Department is committed to making benefits available to every eligible person who wishes to participate in the major nutrition assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Child Nutrition Programs, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). While the Department’s ultimate objective is for economic opportunities to make nutrition assistance unnecessary for as many families as possible, we will ensure that these vital programs remain ready to serve all eligible people who need them.

While the rate of SNAP participation among eligible people has returned to the coverage levels of the 1990s, a substantial portion of those eligible for SNAP are not participating. USDA will continue its efforts to ensure that every eligible person is aware of the program’s benefits so that they can make an informed choice whether to participate or not.

USDA also intends to ensure effective and easy access to the Child Nutrition Programs for eligible children who need them. The National School Lunch Program is available in most schools. Schools can receive cash subsidies and donated commodities from the Department for each meal they serve. In return, those schools must serve lunches that meet Federal requirements and offer free or reduced-price lunches to eligible children.

Promoting access to nutrition assistance goes hand-in-hand with managing these programs in a manner that ensures public confidence and maximizes the impact of Federal dollars. Strong management ensures that those most in need of nutrition assistance receive it. It also ensures that nutrition assistance programs leverage opportunities to positively impact the local economy in the communities they serve. Finally, it ensures that resources are not wasted by error or abuse. USDA uses all available opportunities, including new communication and eGovernment technologies, to serve customers, work with partners, and administer programs as effectively as possible.

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Promote Healthy Diet and Physical Activity Behavior

Statement:

Promote Healthy Diet and Physical Activity Behavior

Description:

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Protect Public Health by Ensuring Food is Safe

Statement:

Protect Public Health by Ensuring Food is Safe

Description:

USDA is committed to ensuring Americans have access to safe food through a farm-to-table approach to reducing and preventing foodborne illness. The Department invests in its workforce and data infrastructure to prevent harm to consumers by reducing the incidence of food contamination and quickly identifying and working to prevent or limit outbreaks. Effective response to food safety issues and enforcement depend upon timely, quality data and analysis.

USDA conducts in-commerce surveillance activities to protect public health by ensuring that meat, poultry, and processed egg products are safe, secure, wholesome, correctly labeled and packaged. In fiscal year 2012, USDA ensured public health requirements were met in establishments that slaughter or process 147 million head of livestock and 8.9 billion poultry carcasses. In the same year, USDA estimated that there were 479,621 Salmonella, Listeria monocytgenes (Lm), and Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 foodborne illnesses attributed to Department-regulated products.

USDA also measures industry adoption of functional food defense plans. Food defense plans are written procedures that official meat and poultry slaughter and processing establishments, egg product plants, and official import inspection establishments should follow to protect the food supply from intentional contamination of food products with chemicals, biological agents, or other harmful substances. These plans help the industry protect public health and reduce negative economic impacts on the food infrastructure.

Finally, as imported products and on-farm practices can dramatically impact food safety, USDA participates in and leads government-wide Codex Alimentarius activities to ensure that science-based international public health standards are in place, promotes use of Codex standards by other governments and international producers, conducts re-inspection of imported products and audits foreign countries to ensure the safety of imported products and provides guidance to promote good agricultural practices on the farm. The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (chaired by the U.S.) also adopted Guidelines for the Control of Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken meat in 2011. The guidelines are consistent with USDA hygienic performance standards and will help ensure the safety of imported products.

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Protect Agricultural Health by Minimizing Major Diseases and Pests to Ensure Access to Safe, Plentiful, and Nutritious Food

Statement:

Protect Agricultural Health by Minimizing Major Diseases and Pests to Ensure Access to Safe, Plentiful, and Nutritious Food

Description:

The Department detects and quickly responds to new invasive species and emerging agricultural and public health situations through a three-part strategy that involves (1) identifying threats overseas and working to prevent them from coming to the United States, (2) providing training and expertise to identify threats at ports of entry, and (3) working to eradicate pests and diseases or manage them to limit the damage done if they are already in the United States.

Where possible, USDA eradicates or manages existing agricultural pests and diseases and wildlife damage. The Department also develops and applies more effective scientific methods to prevent, detect, eradicate, or manage pests and diseases. These efforts contribute to the overall agricultural health of the Nation and the world.

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