Trump’s Nominee For Agriculture Has Key Health Role |

Although consumers may simply think of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) as responsible for overseeing the farming industry, it also plays a key role in promoting health.  The department is influential in maintaining the nation’s health in four key areas:

Nutrition Assistance

Although food insecurity across the nation has declined in recent years, the USDA found 12.7 percent of all households in 2015 faced hunger. The department helps address this problem by managing the nation’s food assistance initiatives.  The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is among the best known of those efforts. SNAP, formerly called food stamps, provides a monthly stipend to eligible residents through an Electronic Benefit Transfer, or EBT, card to use at any qualifying grocer. Since its inception, SNAP has become the nation’s largest safety net for the hungry, feeding more than 44 million Americanslast year. There are additional programs through the school dietary program, the Summer Food Service Program distributes meals at public areas such as churches and playgrounds. This program helped feed 2.6 million children every day during the program’s peak month of July in 2015.  Department of Health and Human Services, the department issued the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Supporting Rural Medicine 

Among those efforts is the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants, which distributes millions of dollars to strengthen telecommunications in rural communities and increase access to resources such as teachers and doctors

Health Education

Since 1969, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program has worked with low-income families to develop healthy diet and exercise habits and educate them about food safety.

Preventing Foodborne Illness Nationally And In Your Home

The USDA helps protect the food supply through the Food Safety and Inspection Service. The office monitors the importation of meat, poultry and egg products by issuing safety certifications to some foods from other countries and auditing their food inspection systems.

Domestically, the same agency monitors food processing and distribution through microbiological testing. It also maintains a system that tracks and alerts potentially dangerous foods. For consumers, the office maintains a USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline to answer individual questions about food preparation.

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Amid the cacophony of confirmation hearings for Cabinet nominees, President-elect Donald Trump reportedly has settled on former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to fill the final Cabinet-department vacancy: secretary of Agriculture.  

Trump’s Nominee For Agriculture Has Key Health Role | California Healthline