The USDA is taking steps to make it easier for students to keep getting free meals through next school year. Officials announced this week that a number of COVID-19-related flexibilities have been extended through June 30, 2022.
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The USDA is taking steps to make it easier for kids to keep getting free meals throughout the summer. Officials announced this week that a number of COVID-19-related waivers that were in place until the end of June have now been extended through September.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday afternoon that officials are extending flexibilities to allow free meals to be available to all children throughout the 2020-2021 school year. The previous waiver extension ended in December, but USDA officials say they are committed to ensuring all children have access to nutritious food as the United States recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and agreed to extend the waiver through June.
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A number of farmers and rural businesses will be able to lower their energy costs, thanks to funding from the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program. Locally, N&L Pork near Knox will get $20,000 to buy and install a 111-kilowatt solar array. The USDA says that will save enough energy to power 14 homes a year and lower the business’s annual energy costs by more than $15,000.
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Pulaski County is now the popcorn capital of the United States. That’s according to a recent article from The Washington Post.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it’s stepping up its efforts to modernize rural America’s water infrastructure. USDA Rural Development says it has more than $4 billion in loans available for rural communities with up to 10,000 residents. That’s a significant funding increase from last year.
More than 100 rural infrastructure projects across the country, including one here in Starke County, are being funded thanks in part to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program.
The Town of North Judson received a $3,892,000 loan from the USDA to assist with their sewer improvement project. Continue reading
The City of Knox is adding another house to its blight elimination effort. Mayor Dennis Estok told the city council Tuesday the owner of 202 North Pearl Street has agreed to sell the home to the city for eventual demolition. Continue reading
Grants are available to help fund projects that encourage the production of specialty crops. The Indiana State Department of Agriculture is now accepting grant proposals for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. Continue reading
Giving residents easy access to healthy food choices is a challenge in many of the rural communities in the local area, but during the past year, officials in Starke County found a way to keep one town’s grocery store open. Continue reading
Specialty crop producers who applied for enhanced crop insurance this year have a deadline approaching to turn in necessary paperwork. Conservation compliance forms must be filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture by June 1. Farmers who do not complete the form will not be eligible for federal crop insurance payments. The 2014 farm bill gave specialty crop producers the option to apply for enhanced crop coverage through the federal Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, commonly known as NAP. In order to receive payments, farmers must certify they will not plant crops on erodible land unless previously approved by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Applicants must also agree not to drain, dredge, level or fill any wetlands on their property. Continue reading
If you know someone interested in serving on a local U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency County Committee, now is the time to submit their name as a nominee! From June 17 through Aug. 1, nominations are being accident to run for a position on local USDA Farm Service Agency County Committees. Nearly everyone who participates or cooperates in an FSA program and is of legal voting age can be a candidate.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is helping lead the way with a commitment to ushering in the new era for American energy– an economy fueled by locally-grown and alternative energy sources designed and produced by American workers. In President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address, he laid out a blueprint for such an economy, which requires the safe and responsible production of our oil and natural gas resources.
