Food and Nutrition Security

Importance of Food and Nutrition Security

Food insecurity creates enormous strain on worker productivity, healthcare spending, and military readiness. The  USDA Economic Research Service noted household food insecurity was 13.5 percent in 2023 and was significantly higher than in 2022. Often, food insecurity and diet-related chronic diseases coexist. Diet-related chronic diseases are the leading causes of death in this country. Ensuring food and nutrition security for everyone in this country will require a better understanding of the complex causes and corresponding solutions of food insecurity and diet-related illnesses. 

NIFA’s Impact

NIFA recognizes nutrition as a cost-effective approach to address many societal and economic issues faced across the globe. NIFA works to ensure a safe, nutritious, and secure food supply while also developing, delivering, and disseminating evidence-based nutrition education to prevent chronic diseases, improve health, and prioritize nutrition security. 

NIFA’s nutrition efforts are grounded in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, and other Federal food and nutrition guidelines and priorities including The President’s Make America Healthy Again initiative. NIFA partners with the Land-grant University System ,government, private, and nonprofit organizations to support science. The agency also invests in developing nutrition scientists across all stages of professional development using an integrated approach to prioritize nutrition security and to ensure effective agricultural systems through research, education and Extension. NIFA invests more than $220 million annually in research, education, Extension and innovation to advance food and nutrition security.

NIFA aims to foster healthy eating among all Americans.

• Using innovative transdisciplinary solutions to promote healthy eating patterns and behaviors to tackle the “whole picture” regarding underlying factors and most promising strategies
• Harnessing a comprehensive research agenda to build a more resilient and nourishing food system, including:
• Production (e.g. agroecology, community and home food gardening,  farmers’ markets, and regional food systems).
• Preparation (e.g. ensuring sufficient, safe, and nutritious food preparation for everyone including disaster preparedness).
• Promotion (e.g. fostering a circular economy in rural areas by promoting local and regional food supply chains).
• Consumption (e.g. enabling positive healthy eating behavior to decrease the health and financial burden of diet-related, noncommunicable diseases and health disparities).
• Improve the nutritional quality of Federal nutrition safety net.
• Disposal (e.g. limit food loss and waste while ensuring food safety).
• Integrating with efforts to reduce weather-related risks and impacts, as well as improve community and national resilience using transformative discoveries, education, and engagement
• Engaging individual, family, and community agency and capacity building 

Key NIFA Programs

• Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)
• Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP)
• Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program (CFP)
• Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program
• Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Diet, Nutrition, Prevention of Chronic Diseases (A1344)

Other Relevant NIFA Programs

• Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)
  • Foundational and Applied Science Program
    • Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health (FSNH) program area
      • A1332 Food Safety and Defense
      • A1343 Food and Human Health
      • A1344 Diet, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases
      • A1364 Innovations in Food Manufacturing Technologies
  • Crosscutting Programs
    • A1181 Agricultural Biosecurity
    • A1402 Agricultural Microbiomes in Plant Systems and Natural Resources
    • A1511 Nanotechnology for Agricultural and Food Systems
    • A1541 Data Science for Food and Agricultural Systems (DSFAS)
    • A1701 Critical Agricultural Research and Extension (CARE)
    • A1712 Rapid Response to Weather Events Across Food and Agricultural Systems
    • A1713 Rapid Response to Emerging and Re-emerging Pest and Disease Events Across Food and Agricultural Systems
    • A1811 Commodity Board Co-Funding Topics
  • Education and Workforce Development
    • A7101 Predoctoral Fellowships
    • A7201 Postdoctoral Fellowships
    • A7401 Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates
    • A7501 Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy
    • A7601 Agricultural Workforce Training Grants
    • A7801 Food and Agricultural Non-formal Education
    • A9201 Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS)
  • Non-AFRI Programs
    • 4-H Youth Development Program
    • 1890 Institution Teaching, Research and Extension Capacity Building Grants (CBG) Program
    • Alaska Native-Serving and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNH) Competitive Education Grants Program
    • Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP)
    • Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture Program
    • Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR)
    • CYFAR 4-H Military Partnership Professional Development & Technical Assistance (CMPC-PDTA)
    • Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans (AgVets)
    • Federally-Recognized Tribes Extension Program
    • Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship (NNF) Grants Program
    • Food Safety Outreach Program
    • Higher Education Challenge Grants Program
    • Higher Education Multicultural Scholars Program
    • Hispanic-Serving Institutions Education Grants Program (HSI)
    • Master Food Preserver Programs
    • National Center for Home Food Preservation
    • New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE)
    • Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative
    • Regional Rural Development Centers
    • Resident Instruction Grants (RIIA) and Distance Education Grants (DEG) for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas
    • Resident Instruction Grants for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas (RIIA) Programs
    • Rural Health & Safety Education
    • Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
    • SPECA Grant Program
    • Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program
    • Tribal Extension Grant Program
    • WIC Workforce Development Initiative

Integrating Youth Perspective

NIFA’s efforts aim to foster the youth voice and integrate the youth perspective where possible. Learn more from these relevant resources.

• NIFA 4-H Youth Development Program
• National 4-H Conference | National Institute of Food and Agriculture (usda.gov)         
• Youth Perspectives on Food, Nutrition, and Health, Washington, DC | Nutrition.gov

Local and Indigenous Expertise 

NIFA emphasizes the importance of integrating local and Indigenous expertise. Learn more about this from these resources.

• USDA-DOI Treaty Database
• ASCEND for Better Health: Building a Healthy Community Together, Bismarck
• USDA ARS, North Great Plains Research Laboratory

Relevant Topic Pages

• Advanced Food Manufacturing
• Community Nutrition
• Food Loss and Waste
• Food Products
• Food Safety
• Local and Regional Food Systems
• Nutrition and Food Systems
• Nutrition Education
• Prevention of Diet-Related Diseases and Disparities
• The Science of Food

Consumer Resources – USA.gov Government Benefits explains how to apply for and find social support programs, including nutrition assistance. Nutrition.gov is a USDA sponsored website that offers credible information to help you make healthful eating choices.

Nutrition Professional Resources – The USDA National Agricultural Library’s Food and Nutrition Information Center provides access to a range of  resources from both government and non-government sources.

Nutrition Security Research Resources – The USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) conducts economic research on numerous topics central to food and nutrition security and provides links to selected Economic Research Service resources on these topics.