NIFA’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program: Helping Consumers Maximize, and Safely Serve and Store the Food They Have

During the current pandemic, nutrition security has taken center stage. Families are struggling to put healthy food on the table. In these uncertain times, it’s important for communities to have the resources they need to help feed and nurture families. People need the skills to prepare foods and know what food they can store in their limited space in difficult times. This skills gap was magnified during the pandemic.

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program does just that. Using nutrition education to help low-income families and youths gain knowledge and skills for increased food security, the program also provides participants reliable information about food resource management in both food shopping and preparation skills and helps create an understanding of food safety practices. For more information, read the NIFA blog.

Image of fruits and vegetables in a store, courtesy of Getty Images.

Modeling and Training to Enhance Resilience of the U.S. Food System to COVID-19 Labor Shortages

Funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a team of Cornell University researchers, partnering with startup iFoodDecisionSciences, is conducting a project to model the spread of COVID-19 and to identify optimal mitigation strategies for labor-intensive food processing facilities - those involving food industries in which workers typically work very close to each other: produce, dairy, beef, pork, and poultry processing facilities; and produce farms.

Our model is called the "COVID-19 Infection & Food Production Capacity Model." Once we develop this model, we will scale it up and implement it at volunteer facilities to improve their effectiveness at addressing and mitigating COVID-19. Our goal is to develop a decision support tool that can help processing facilities to develop their own mitigation programs. For more information, read the NIFA article. 

NIFA guest author article from Cornell University’s Dr. Renata Ivanek.

Photo of food processing worker in plant. Courtesy of Adobe Stock.

NIFA Career Opportunities

We are hiring! Remember to check out NIFA's Career Opportunities webpage, where there is a direct link to all open positions. You can also explore NIFA jobs at the USAjobs.gov website. Current openings in Kansas City, Missouri:

Oversight Branch Chief (Supervisory Financial Specialist) (GS 14)
Closing Date: 03/29/2021

Administrative Operations Specialist, (GS 9-11)
Closing Date: 03/19/2021

Student Trainee (Biological Science) (GS 3-5)
Closing Date: 03/19/2021

Student Trainee (Accounting) (GS 4-5)
Closing Date: 03/19/2021

Student Trainee (Business) (GS 4-5)
Closing Date: 03/19/2021

Animated Videos for Sustainable Agriculture

Farmers and researchers are working together to develop and implement agricultural practices that increase profitability, quality of life and environmental stewardship. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education’s (SARE) new series of short animated videos illustrate how producers can improve the success and health of their farms by implementing sustainable practices. These eight “What is Sustainable Agriculture?” animated videos are useful engaging educational resources for all audiences. For more information or to watch the video series go to SARE online.

The Great Grocer Project  

Wayne State University, the Detroit Food Policy Council and members of the Detroit Grocery Coalition recently announced the Great Grocer Project, a community-based program to strengthen relationships between independently owned grocery stores and their customers in Detroit, while providing support to increase awareness and sales of healthy foods that foster economic vitality within Detroit neighborhoods. “Too often, Detroiters choose to shop outside the city to obtain their groceries and healthy foods,” said Rachael Dombrowski, who co-directs the Great Grocer Project. “We want to reverse that tide and showcase grocers who are providing high-quality, affordable healthy foods to their customers within the city." This work is supported by the Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. For more information, read the Wayne State University article.

Grocery bag full of vegetables image courtesy of Getty Images.

NIFA Invests Over $8.5 Million in Critical Research and Extension to Address Urgent Needs in Agriculture

NIFA recently awarded over $8.5 million in funding for 29 research and Extension grants that will advance solutions to critically important problems in U.S. agriculture. “These NIFA investments in user-inspired projects bring together researchers, Extension experts, and practitioners to find solutions that can be rapidly adopted by the agricultural community,” said NIFA Director Carrie Castille. “Critical problems impede efficient food and agricultural systems at local, regional, and national scales,” Castille said. “Work supported by this federal investment enables partnerships and close coordination across the entire food and agriculture spectrum on efforts to yield practices that meet pressing needs.” For more information, read the NIFA press release.

Researcher examining plants in lab, courtesy of Getty Images.

Three-Day Action Forum

The National Extension Climate Initiative is holding a virtual forum titled “Climate Change in Extension: Elevating and Amplifying Action,” April 19-21, 2021, starting at noon EDT each day. The forum will bring together Extension faculty, staff, federal representatives, administrators, interested partners, and constituents to address the question: What can/should the Cooperative Extension System do to advance climate change programming? National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Director Dr. Carrie Castille will be a panelist on April 19. To register or for more information go online to the National Extension Climate Initiative.

Climate change graphic courtesy of Getty Images.