and provide it to a series of co-ops through cooperative agreements to educate people about the extent of the programs at usda. as knowledgeable as you are and you are incredibly knowledgeable about our programs, not everybody knows what you know. we need to make sure people understand there are 41 different programs, for marketing. we need to create better awareness of the amazing reach of the department of agriculture and once co-ops have that information for people at usda they can begin to make grant applications. they can make procurement deals to make opportunity for folks. it creates more resilient system. the key is co-ops cannot only aggregate, and give a seat at the table but they are trusted. and and and where do i sign up? >> food system and rightfully so, you mentioned the offset about climate change. usda, i vividly remember in 2014, or the nation was challenged based on a city in ohio. and a metro area into lake erie and caused a toxic algae bloom that shutdown the water supply for half 1 million people in ohio. was tasked with a cleanup effort. you are working on improving that time and all th

people don't get sick. yeah. it's an important thing because perhaps maybe you're hosting thanksgiving for the first time. and we've got am an expert with the u.s. d s to join us here at usdady, thank you so much for joining us. as i said, maybe people are hosting for the first time ever in may not know the ins and outs of how to do it all safely. so appreciate your time this morning. absolutely. thanks so much for having me. you bet. exa level with the first question. yeah, we're having a little debate over here. this might have some household up in arms. but i do have a question and. >> is it ok to wash your turkey with some lost their meet with soap and water. you know, some people what is the proper way to prepare your turkey. this over water at. yeah, it is a classic question. so actually usda recommends that you do not wash your turkey is not necessarily necessary to do that. and also it risks cross contamination. you can get those turkey juices in and around your sink. >> and so really once you get into the oven and you cook it to a safe internal temperature of one 65 you eliminated those any pathogens and viruses may. so we in there. and so you're safe and good to

i think a significant percentage of workers at usda understand and appreciate that our concern is for worker safety. our concern is to make sure people are protected and that we comply with cdc guidelines. i don't anticipate at this point that we will see a major disruption in our capacity to do our job at usda. we will make adjustments if it turns out survey results over time begin to reflect what we are seeing today. we will take steps to make sure we do not disrupt inspections and the important work that is being done at these plants. we don't see it today, so -- >> november 22 will be here pretty quickly, and i have concerns over the position we are intentionally dampening and further hindering the industry. would you agree that part of healthy free-market competition is the ability to distinguish your product from your competitors? if so, if the usda is successful as allowing individual harm as a basis under section 202, won't this inhibit producers and -- in kansas and across the country from differentiating their products, because they cannot pay a higher price for a better product, for fear of prosecution by the usda or a pot

at an affordable price. second harvest of south georgia estimates one in five people in south georgia do not know where their next meal will come from. one in five. administrative flexibility is provided and our usda has helped ride additional nutritional assistance throughout the pandemic, but i hear from folks in georgia that guidance from washington fails to reflect the challenges of administering assistance in rural communities. you have dedicated your career to underserved communities. what unique challenges do individuals in rural communities face recoding nutrition? and how can this subcommittee better address those challenges as we look to the 2023 farm bill? >> i appreciate the question, senator warnock. where i am from originally in south dakota and communities where i work in north dakota are rural and particularly tribal populations. rural populations i work with that are underserved, we tend to have less access to health care and less easy access to healthy food. in kyle, south dakota, if we want to purchase healthy food, it costs more than what you would spend in a city or suburb, because it is perishable and costs money to bring food out to rural communities. in public health we cal