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Editor: Kelly Sprute Jan. 24,
2018
Making a Difference
Mas Fresco! A Food
Stamp Program That Makes Fresh Affordable
According to the Department of Agriculture’s Economic
Research Service, 12.3 percent of households were food insecure in 2016.
Participants of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) spend less
on nutritious fruits and vegetables. Mas Fresco, a program launched through the
University of California-San Diego (UCSD), offers monthly credits of $10, $20,
or $40 to SNAP recipients to be redeemed for fresh produce. The researchers
varied the reward amounts and assigned them randomly to participants to help
determine the optimal dollar level that changes people's dietary habits.
"We know food insecurity and, unfortunately, chronic
disease go hand in hand," says Joe Prickitt, a UCSD dietitian who is also senior director of Más Fresco. "For SNAP participants, there's a real cost
barrier to buying fruits and vegetables. They say they're just too
expensive." The goal of the four-year program is to improve diets and
overall health by making fresh produce more affordable. Recently, Más Fresco,
which means More Fresh in English, enrolled 2,000 people, who will receive the incentive
for one year. The current participants will continue in the program through
June. Read
the full National Public Radio story.
Photo: Rebeca Gonzalez says she can now afford to buy
pomegranates for her family in Garden Grove, Calif., because of the extra money
she receives through Más Fresco, a food stamp incentive program for purchasing
produce. Photo courtesy of Courtney Perkes
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NIFA News
NIFA Welcomes New
National Program Leader for Animal Biosecurity
Michelle Colby joins NIFA's Institute of Food Production
and Sustainability’s Division of Animal Systems as a national program leader
for animal biosecurity. She will provide implementation, management, engagement
and administration for animal biosecurity programs including the National
Animal Health Laboratory Network, One Health and Dual Use Research of Concern.
Prior to joining NIFA, Colby served as the Branch Chief for Agricultural
Defense in the Chemical and Biological Defense Division of Department of
Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate.
Colby completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at
the Maryland campus of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary
Medicine (VMRCVM), as well as a M.S. in Epidemiology and a three-year applied
veterinary epidemiology residency program. She received her Doctorate of
Veterinary Medicine from VMRCVM and a B.S. degree in Animal Science from the
University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.
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The Power of Plant
Partnerships Adventures in Genomics
Our daily activities can take a heavy
toll on our environment. Dr. Sharon Doty, from the School of Environmental and
Forest Sciences at the University of Washington, hopes to use plant-microbe
partnerships to revolutionize the fields of agriculture, forestry, and
bioenergy by making them more environmentally and economically sustainable. Watch “The Power of
Plant Partnerships” video.
Dr. Doty’s work was supported by funding from NIFA and
the Byron and Alice Lockwood Foundation.
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News for You
Learn about U.S.
Student Study Abroad Resources
NIFA’s Center for International Programs invites you to join
a free webinar to learn about the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship
and other U.S. Department of State scholarships and resources to help students
study abroad.
The webinar addresses:
- The value to undergraduate students’ studies, careers, and
personal development;
- Benefits to participants working in the fields of
agriculture, food sciences, and natural resources; and
- Funding and other resources available to students with
financial need.
Join the
webinar, Thursday, Jan. 25, from 1-2 p.m. (EST)
This webinar will be recorded for replay, available
approximately ten days after the event, by visiting the NIFA website or the U.S. Department of State study abroad website.
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Measuring Rural
Prosperity
In December, the National Agricultural Statistics Service launched the Census of Agriculture, which counts
all American producers across the country – about 3 million currently – every
five years. Almost 35,000 of those producers instead received the Agricultural
Resource Management Survey (ARMS), which looks at the financial health of
America’s farm sector.
A producer who completes the ARMS survey is exempt from
having to fill out the Census of Agriculture. ARMS asks many of the questions
the Census does as well as more detailed financial questions. Results of ARMS
helps evaluate the financial effects of numerous USDA programs and others.
Results also look at farm income, conservation practices, and adoption of new
farm technologies. Read
the full USDA article.
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USDA’s National Institute of Food and
Agriculture Announces Support for Biomass Genomics Research
NIFA, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Biological
and Environmental Research, announce joint support for research in plant
feedstock genomics for bioenergy. NIFA’s support is funded through the
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, which aims to address challenges in
food and agricultural sciences through research, extension, and education.
The Plant
Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy program aims to
improve use of biomass and plant feed stocks for the production of fuels such
as ethanol or renewable chemical feedstocks. Research to overcome biological
barriers, like resistance and tolerance to disease and weather, to the
low-cost, high-quality, scalable, and sustainable production of dedicated
bioenergy biomass feedstocks using the tools of genetics and genomics is
encouraged. Read
the full request for application announcement.
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NIFA’s mission is to invest in and advance agricultural research, education, and extension to solve societal challenges. NIFA’s investments in transformative science directly support the long-term prosperity and global preeminence of U.S. agriculture.
If you wish to submit a news item or information, send an email to NIFAUpdate.
USDA is an equal opportunity lender, provider, and employer.
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