Word: usda
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...help alleviate the crisis, the U.S. shipped some 30,000 metric tons of wheat to the struggling nation in 1999--and continued to do so until 2005. But rather than simply handing over the wheat to produce the low-cost noodles, the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) contracted with a fledgling nongovernmental organization called International Relief & Development (IRD) to create a pioneering food-aid program using a business model that has since become a template for projects in Cambodia, Niger and Sri Lanka...
Despite the agency's novice status, IRD's proposal won its first USDA contract, in part because it was the only group willing to go into Indonesia during such an unstable time. "IRD was very young, and in some ways we were taking a risk with them," notes Pat Sheikh, deputy administrator for the agency's Foreign Agricultural Service, which currently has contracts with 25 nongovernmental organizations, including Catholic Relief Services and the World Food Program. Says Keys: "We had enthusiasm. Even though we were new and small, we had key staff people who had worked in Indonesia and were...
...Many schools will try to pass along some of the cost increases to families already grappling with higher grocery bills. An additional 1.5 million Americans were receiving food stamps in March compared to a year earlier, according to the USDA. Meanwhile, America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest food-bank network, reported a 20% increase in the number of people seeking food aid this spring compared to a year ago. And this summer more parents have signed their kids up for camps that make use of free lunch programs. "More and more children are coming to child care hungry...
...amounts of farmland diverted into producing biofuels, and demand from developing countries such as China and India are just some of the factors behind the rising prices worldwide - none of which is easily overcome. U.S. consumers can expect the price of food to rise an additional 5.5% this year, USDA economist Ephraim Leibtag told Congress. "I think the price levels we're at now are not going to go down anytime soon," he added. And that means schools and families may face even tougher times down the road...
...grown produce is unique; his enthusiasm for gardening is not. Twenty-five million U.S. households planted vegetable and fruit gardens in 2007, according to Bruce Butterfield of the National Gardener's Association, and that number is expected to increase by several million this year. The waiting list for the USDA's Master Gardener Program, which involves nearly 90,000 volunteers in all 50 states who educate and assist the public with horticulture projects, is getting longer every year, says Bill Hoffman, National Program Leader for Agriculture Homeland Security. Even urban dwellers are returning to the land; in Austin, Texas...