The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week that up to $2.5 million in grant money is available to establish the Rural Child Poverty Nutrition Center to create child nutrition programs in up to 30 rural communities. In 2012 one out of four rural children lived in poverty, and 21.2 percent of rural households with children were food insecure, says the USDA.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press release: "Children living in persistently-poor, rural areas tend to experience
worse outcomes in terms of nutrition, activity and obesity. The Rural
Child Poverty Nutrition Center would facilitate innovative strategies to
support a healthier next generation in rural America."
The release said: "The center will develop, administer and evaluate a series of sub-grants
to improve services in these communities. The center will also organize
several conferences to exchange lessons learned and develop a report on
best practices. The rural communities will use their funds to target
child food insecurity through greater coordination of the nutrition
programs. For example, communities could use their funds to identify
strategies to increase community involvement or to apply more effective
uses of technology and digital media to improve program coordination." (Read more)
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