5: Nutrition and Health
Improve the Nation’s Nutrition and Health Other Information:
USDA promotes America’s health through food assistance for low-income people, and nutrition education, guidance and promotion
for the general public and targeted groups. The Department teaches, informs and motivates Americans to use this information
to improve their diets and physical activity patterns. USDA also expands research and scientific knowledge about the contribution
of food and human nutrition to public health. By promoting better diets, reaching children early and ensuring access to healthy
food, the Department contributes to the Nation’s health. USDA will contribute to significant improvements to the Nation’s
nutrition and health status through 2010 by its leadership and improved management of nutrition assistance programs. The Department
is targeting: Improvements in access to Federal nutrition assistance programs as the centerpiece of the Federal strategy to
reduce and prevent hunger among low-income people; Five-point increases in the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores of children
and low-income people, and a two-point increase among the general public.HEI uses food-intake data to measure the quality
and variety of the American diet; Sustaining peak performance in the Food Stamp Program (FSP), which provides resources via
electronic debit cards to help participants improve their food-purchasing power, in partnership with States to minimize errors
and prevent fraud and abuse; and Better management of all programs through improved performance measurement, including the
measurement and reduction of erroneous payments.
Objective(s):
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