Tom Vilsack

The head of the USDA says most WIC beneficiaries would lose access to the program within a few days of a government shutdown, leaving them unable to buy healthy food.

Millions of Americans will lose food assistance if the government shuts down

2:12pm September 26, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

A shutdown would affect the nearly 7 million women and children who rely on WIC for healthy food. Free school lunch and Meals on Wheels are also at risk, and SNAP could be impacted eventually too.

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President of the National Black Farmer's Association John Boyd stands in his fields in Baskerville, Va. He says the USDA's relief program is "like the fox watching the hen house."

National

The USDA Is Set To Give Black Farmers Debt Relief. They've Heard That One Before

11:34am June 05, 2021

by Emma Hurt

The U.S. Agriculture Department is sending aid for debt relief to struggling farmers of color beginning this month. But many Black farmers distrust the department after decades of failed promises.

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Rod Bradshaw, pictured in January 2021, says he's the last Black farmer in Hodgeman County, Kan. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack talked with NPR about debt relief coming for Black farmers.

Black Farmers Have Long Faced Discrimination. New Aid Aims To Right Past Wrongs

5:34pm March 13, 2021

Generations of systemic discrimination have decimated the number of Black farmers in the U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack talked with NPR about new funding for debt relief.

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A gate blocks the entrance of a farm operated by Daybreak Foods, on May 17, 2015 near Eagle Grove, Iowa. The facility was reportedly struck by the current outbreak of bird flu. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsick says biosecurity measures are crucial to

Secretary Of Agriculture: Bird Flu Poses 'No Health Issue' To Humans

12:12pm May 31, 2015

The largest outbreak of avian flu in U.S. history is ravaging poultry at farms in the Midwest. Sec. Tom Vilsack says there's no risk of transmission to humans, but egg prices may rise.

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