4.1.3: Outreach, Constituencies, and Key Stakeholders

Build on existing outreach efforts and expand those efforts to all constituencies and key stakeholders

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USDA has a well-established group of key stakeholders with whom it communicates effectively and efficiently. As the Department embraces the concept of a more open government, it seeks to provide equity of opportunity to a wider and more diverse citizenry. This citizenry includes those without access to high-speed Internet. To reach the whole of the American public, USDA is building on and expanding existing outreach efforts and activities to reach everybody. One such outreach effort is USDA’s Peoples Garden. USDA uses this initiative, as well as its seasonal Farmers Market, to extend beyond its facilities and engage Americans across the country every day. The first People’s Garden, located at USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C., serves as a model of sustainable agriculture and a place to share samples of healthy locally grown food. This initiative also challenges USDA employees and stakeholders to establish their own People’s Gardens in communities worldwide. Thus, not only does People’s Garden encourage environmental stewardship and responsibility, it also encourages outreach to and participation from nontraditional USDA customers. Be a part of People’s Garden! Aside from the People’s Garden, USDA is engaged in numerous outreach activities to promote public participation from all sectors of society. For example, the Department employs a Food Safety Mobile to help educate citizens in all areas about food safety issues at the grassroots level. In addition, Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food is a USDA initiative that connects consumers with local producers to create new economic opportunities for communities. The Department sees this initiative as the start of a national conversation about the importance of understanding where food comes from and how it gets to one’s plate. Moreover, the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Web site encourages users to share their ideas and stories about food, agriculture, and local and regional food systems. Get to know your farmer! USDA actively works to reach out to all minority and disadvantaged groups. One example of this outreach is USDA’s outreach efforts to Native Americans. To this end, the USDA Office of Tribal Relations was created. This office oversees Government-to-Government relations between USDA and tribal governments. The office works to develop plans for consultation and collaboration with tribal governments. It strives to ensure that programs and policies are developed in consultation with the Native American constituents they impact. Learn more about USDA-Tribal Relations!

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