USDA expanding program to fight rural poverty

San Francisco Chronicle: COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — U.S. officials are expanding a program intended to reduce poverty and improve life in rural areas through better access to federal funding.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was expected in South Carolina on Tuesday to announce the expansion of the so-called StrikeForce initiative, which already operates in 10 states. The program will now also be available in the Carolinas, the Dakotas, Alabama and Virginia.

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