The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today the allocation of $4.5 million to establish three additional USDA Nutrition Hubs across the country. These new hubs aim to advance food and nutrition security and help prevent diet-related chronic diseases, particularly in historically underserved communities.
The new Nutrition Hubs will expand on the pilot Nutrition Hub established last year in collaboration with Southern University and A&M College under USDA’s Agricultural Science Center of Excellence for Nutrition and Diet for Better Health (ASCEND for Better Health) initiative.
This funding announcement was made during a virtual event highlighting USDA’s efforts to prevent diet-related diseases, including cancers, through precision nutrition research and community engagement as part of the White House Cancer Moonshot Community Conversations week of action.
Funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), the nation’s leading competitive grants program for agricultural sciences, these hubs will provide science-based information tailored to priority communities such as Tribal, Hispanic, and Insular Areas.
The Nutrition Hubs aim to complement USDA's contributions to Extension, education, research communities, and underserved populations. They seek to better understand real-world opportunities and challenges around nutrition and diet-related health disparities while developing coordinated science-based solutions.
“Equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable foods that promote optimal health can significantly reduce rates of diet-related chronic diseases including many cancers,” said Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics. “When people have tailored tools, resources, and knowledge, they are empowered to take a more active role in managing their nutrition and health.”
Each hub will address program area priorities through precision nutrition—nutrition tailored to different population subgroups based on integrated data. Findings from this research will result in targeted nutritional recommendations for individual subpopulations rather than a "one-size-fits-all" approach.
“These Nutrition Hubs present an exciting new opportunity through our AFRI program portfolio to strengthen Extension, research, and education efforts of our nation’s Land-grant Universities,” said USDA NIFA Director Dr. Manjit K. Misra. “The goal is to stimulate interdisciplinary work among scientists and stakeholders that will reduce diet-related diseases while building workforce capacity.”
Over time, each hub will work with priority populations to develop science-based nutrition information while fostering research opportunities in human nutrition research aimed at advancing food security in underserved communities.
Applications for this competitive award program are being accepted through October 3, 2024. Detailed application information is available online.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA continues its mission to transform America’s food system by focusing on resilient local food production, fairer markets for producers, ensuring access to nutritious food in all communities, creating new income streams for farmers using climate-smart practices, investing in rural infrastructure and clean energy capabilities while committing to equity across the department.
For more information visit www.usda.gov.
