Federal Resources

The 2015 Summer Food Service Program Handbook (PDF, 207 pages) is now available. This handbook provides guidance and resources to organizations administering summer food programs. New material includes tips on targeting local foods through proper procurement mechanisms. Join one of the many Summer Meals Webinars which will feature resources, technical guidance examples, and best practices that can help make Summer Meals Programs successful.

The National 4-H Headquarters, at USDA has established formal partnerships with Army Child and Youth Services, Air Force Airmen and Family Services, Army Child and Youth Services and Navy Child and Youth Programs to support positive youth development education for youth whose parents are serving in the military.

4-H Afterschool is a special focused effort within the 4-H Youth Development Program that helps 4-H and other youth-serving organizations create and improve after-school programs in urban, suburban, and rural communities across the United States.

The 4-H Youth Development Program is the only national organization that is federally mandated to conduct positive youth development programs. The program works to improve knowledge and skills of young people (their Heads, Hearts, Hands, and Health) and the quality of life in the communities in which they live.

A new study published in Childhood Obesity reflects that students are consuming healthier food at school as a result of the updated USDA nutrition standards for school meals. 

This site provides information on the state and community Children, Youth, and Families at Risk programs funded by the National Insitute of Food and Agriculture.

CYFERnet is a national network of Land Grant university faculty and county Extension educators working to support community-based educational programs for children, youth, parents and families. It provides program, evaluation and technology assistance for children, youth and family community-based programs and is funded as a joint project of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's NIFA and the Cooperative Extension System

The CES, administered by over 130 land grant universities and anchored in all 3,150 counties across the country, is a network of academically trained university faculty and staff who provide a broad array of staff training, curriculum, community collaboration building, evaluation, resource development, and other expertise and resources to out-of-school time programs.

Choose my Plate  offers personalized eating plans, interactive tools to help you plan and assess your food choices, and advice to help you make better choices.'

In a speech at the 2015 National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced an initiative to develop innovative projects to help end childhood hunger, especially in rural areas. These projects will be tested in Kentucky, Nevada, and Virginia, as well as the Chickasaw and Navajo tribal nations. USDA also published a blog post describing the importance of school breakfast programs for student health and success, challenges to student access to meals, and innovative approaches to making sure more children are fed. 

This site provides resources on families, youth, and communities from Cooperative Extension experts around the country.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was passed in 2010 to help ensure that all children in America have access to the nutrition they need. A goal of the Act is to reduce the childhood obesity epidemic and related health risks by helping schools provide balanced meals to students. This fact sheet provides an overview of the results of the school meals provision of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and recent actions that support school nutrition programs. 

These contacts provide information about partnership with the National School Lunch Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program. They can also provide organizations with access to food during times of disaster.

This site provides information about programs and grants that faith and community groups are eligible for within FNS, as well as technical assistance for interested organizations.

This blog post, written by the CEO of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, describes the organization’s work to help schools improve the nutritional quality of the foods they offer to students and the progress that many schools have made to meet the new school nutrition standards issued by the USDA. 

This infographic from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) displays the new nutrition standards established by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which requires the USDA to create standards for all food sold in schools, beyond federally supported meal programs. The infographic also shows examples of foods deemed acceptable both before and after the implementation of the new standards. 

Team Up for School Nutrition Success Training (Team Up) is a new pilot program that provides free, tailored training to schools on securing and providing healthy and delicious school meals to students. The program was developed in partnership with the USDA and the National Food Service Management Institute. The USDA also released a video in which first lady Michelle Obama promotes Team Up and praises the work of school food service professionals across the country.

National 4-H Headquarters, United States Department of Agriculture. 4-H is the largest youth organization in the United States for children and youth ages 5 to 19. Visit the Cooperative Extension Office near you to find a 4-H program in your community

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) advances knowledge for agriculture, the environment, human health and well-being, and communities by supporting research, education, and extension programs in the Land-Grant University System and other partner organizations. NIFA replaced the former Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), which had been in existence since 1994.

NNCC unites the expertise of many of the nation's leading universities through the outreach system of Cooperative Extension. Our goal is to share knowledge about children and child care from the vast resources of the land grant universities with parents, professionals, practitioners, and the general public.

Passport in Time (PIT) is a volunteer archaeology and historic preservation program of the USDA Forest Service (FS). PIT volunteers work with professional FS archaeologists and historians on national forests throughout the U.S. on such diverse activities as archaeological survey and excavation, rock art restoration, survey, archival research, historic structure restoration, oral history gathering, and analysis and curation of artifacts. FS professional staff of archaeologists and historians serve as hosts, guides, and co-workers.

This site lists links to program information for Nutrition Assistance Programs through Food and Nutrition Service.

A new TV feature developed by USDA describes the Team Up for Success Training Initiative, a program that connects schools that have succeeded in instituting the standards of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act with schools that are struggling with implementation. 

This resource from the Department of Agriculture can help schools in identifying and procuring locally grown and produced food for school nutrition programs. 

These resources from the Department of Agriculture can help schools and school districts as they develop school wellness policies that meet the standards of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.