2024 Updated Equity Action Plan Builds on Steps Outlined in First Equity Action Plan, Reflects Stakeholder Input for Continued Program Improvement, Inclusion and Accessibility
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2024 — Today, as we near the very first anniversary of President Biden’s Executive Order on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support to Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack revealed the release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Updated Equity Action Plan. The strategy describes the actions USDA will require to advance equity and enhance access to its programs and services for all stakeholders and neighborhoods.
“USDA is dedicated to enhancing access to our programs, gearing up individuals with the resources they require, and enhancing America’s food system to develop more, much better, and fairer markets for manufacturers and customers alike,” stated Secretary Vilsack. “I take pride in the work we have actually done and will continue to do. The Equity Action Plan Update strengthens USDA’s dedication to guaranteeing that individuals’s Department is responsive and reflective of the requirements of all neighborhoods and all Americans.”
The Department’s very first Equity Action Plan, launched in April 2022, explained a subset of the numerous actions the Department is taking, highlighting those with a high prospective effect for underserved farmers and ranchers, households, kids, and rural neighborhoods. In addition to the Department’s overarching strategy, each company has actually established its own Equity Action Plan customized to its distinct duties and stakeholders. Considering that the release of these strategies, objective locations and personnel workplaces have actually made fantastic strides in incorporating equity into farm, household, neighborhood, and food programs that touch every American’s life, every day.
This 2024 upgrade to the Equity Action Plan constructs on the strong structure of the 2022 strategy and follows the lead of President Biden’s Executive Orders 13985 and 14091, which regularize equity action preparation and firmly insist that federal firms utilize all the policy levers readily available to make development. The Department took part in numerous engagements with clients and potential clients through listening sessions, ask for info, outreach occasions, tribal assessments, and advisory committ