# Secretary of Agriculture *Cabinet office that heads the United States Department of Agriculture; in this record, the office held by Orville Freeman of Minneapolis when Public Law 90-302 was enacted on May 8, 1968.* The secretary of agriculture leads the United States [[Department of Agriculture]]. The post is comparable to an agriculture ministry in other national governments.[^1] The department was founded in 1862 under a commissioner of agriculture who did not sit in the Cabinet. The secretary's office dates from 1889, when the department was raised to Cabinet rank.[^2] Brooke Rollins has held the office since February 13, 2025.[^3] [[Orville Freeman]] of [[Minneapolis]] held the office from January 21, 1961, to January 20, 1969.[^4] He served in both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.[^5] During that tenure, on May 8, 1968, [[Public Law 90-302]] was approved. It added Section 13 to the [[National School Lunch Act]] under the heading "SPECIAL FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN".[^6] The project's research dossier identifies that section as the statutory source of the [[Child and Adult Care Food Program]] and the [[Summer Food Service Program]]. In June 2024 the Minnesota Legislative Auditor reviewed the state's administration of those two programs in its special review of the [[Minnesota Department of Education]]'s oversight of [[Feeding Our Future]].[^7] On May 22, 2026, the Department of Justice announced that the Feeding Our Future ringleader had been sentenced to 500 months.[^8] ## Who Freeman was named to the office after John F. Kennedy's election on November 8, 1960.[^9] The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and the Miller Center date his tenure from January 21, 1961.[^4][^5] The project's Time Table, citing Wikipedia, gives his swearing-in as January 20, 1961, the day of Kennedy's inauguration.[^9] He continued in office under Lyndon B. Johnson. On October 11, 1966, Johnson signed the [[Child Nutrition Act of 1966]] and opened his remarks with "Secretary Freeman, Senator Ellender, Members of the Congress:". The published transcript's editorial note states that "he referred to Secretary of Agriculture Orville L. Freeman."[^10] The office's current line of succession begins with the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and continues through the under secretaries. These include the under secretary responsible for food, nutrition, and consumer services. Further down the list are the regional administrators of the [[Food and Nutrition Service]] in Denver, Chicago and San Francisco.[^11] ## What The department's components include two services. The Forest Service manages about 297,000 square miles of national forests and grasslands. The Food Safety and Inspection Service is responsible for the safety of food produced and sold in the country. Through the [[Food Stamp Program]], the department works with the states to supply food to low-income people.[^12] Public Law 90-302 (82 Stat. 117) is titled *An Act to amend the National School Lunch Act to strengthen and expand food service programs for children*. It created the [[Special Food Service Program for Children]] as Section 13 of the school lunch statute.[^6] The project's dossier describes that section as "the single statutory parent of both the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Food Service Program". The statute's own heading is the special food service program for children. The identification with the later program names is the dossier's.[^6][^7] ## When - November 8, 1960: Kennedy is elected and names Freeman as secretary of agriculture.[^9] - January 20–21, 1961: Freeman enters office. The Time Table, citing Wikipedia, gives January 20.[^9] The JFK Library gives January 21.[^4] - October 11, 1966: Johnson signs the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and addresses Secretary Freeman.[^10] - May 8, 1968: Public Law 90-302 is approved.[^6] - January 20, 1969: Freeman's tenure ends.[^4] - February 13, 2025: Brooke Rollins takes office.[^3] ## Why At the 1966 signing, Johnson stated the purpose of the Child Nutrition Act: "Thousands of children arrive at school hungry because they have no breakfast. This act provides for breakfasts at school."[^13] The 1968 act's title states its purpose as "to strengthen and expand food service programs for children".[^6] The documented outputs of the same programs in Minnesota are recorded below. They comprise a 2024 Legislative Auditor finding against the state administering agency and federal guilty pleas and sentences.[^19][^8] The record shows this sequence. It does not establish any officeholder's reasons for acting or not acting. ## How Section 13 provided meals through "private, nonprofit institutions or public institutions, such as child day-care centers, settlement houses, or recreation centers".[^6] In Minnesota, the Legislative Auditor reports that the state education department administers the successor programs.[^7] ## How much Public Law 90-302 authorized "$32,000,000 for each of the three fiscal years ending June 30, 1969, June 30, 1970, and June 30, 1971".[^6] The secretary holds a Level I position on the Executive Schedule, paid US$253,100 as of January 2026.[^14] ## How many As of its October 2026 retrieval, Wikipedia's list of secretaries since 1889 tallies 14 Democrats and 19 Republicans.[^2] ## In the at-issue record Three entries in the project's at-issue record set the 1968 enactment beside the Minnesota prosecutions. Each is anchored to a 2026 White House action: either the March 2026 presidential action establishing a task force to eliminate fraud, or the January 2026 fact sheet on a new Justice Department fraud-enforcement division.[^15][^16] Entry [[At issue 001 - On May 8, 1968, Public Law 90-302 added]] makes two statements about the period fifty-four years after the enactment. It states that Freeman's son "had been the chief prosecutor of Hennepin County for sixteen of the previous twenty-two years". It also states that "The county ledger is empty." The dossier underlying the entry states that the county prosecutor's office brought none of the cases. The prosecutions it cites are federal releases.[^8][^17] Entry [[At issue 010 - Eighty defendants charged. Sixty-eight convicted. The single largest]] counts eighty defendants charged and sixty-eight convicted, all in dockets opened by the United States. The entry draws those counts from a news tracker that is not among this article's sources. They are reported here as the entry gives them, without a source date.[^16] Entry [[At issue 084 - A statute enacted under a Minneapolis-born Secretary of]] observes that both the 1968 statute and the ringleader's sentence are federal. The Department of Justice gives that sentence as 500 months, which the entry rounds to forty-one years.[^8] These entries are the project's framing of the record. They are not findings of any court. ## In the Minnesota record ### What The [[Office of the Legislative Auditor (Minnesota)]] issued its special review in June 2024. The review names the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Food Service Program. It states that "The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is responsible for administering these programs in Minnesota".[^7] It found that the department "failed to act on warning signs known to the department prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic".[^19] ### Who The Department of Justice describes Feeding Our Future as "a nonprofit organization that was a sponsor participating in the Federal Child Nutrition Program". It states that the fraudulent claims were submitted to the Minnesota Department of Education.[^8] At the sentencing, [[Judge Nancy Brasel]] said: "This was a fraud vortex and you were at the epicenter of it." The release uses the umbrella term [[Federal Child Nutrition Program]] and does not name either CACFP or SFSP.[^8] On January 28, 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota announced guilty pleas from a former Minneapolis mayoral aide and a co-owner of [[Safari Restaurant]].[^17] ### Where The Justice Department release refers to "more than 250 Federal Child Nutrition Program sites throughout the state of Minnesota".[^8] The project's dossier identifies the largest single site as a restaurant in Minneapolis. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Safari Restaurant "received more than $16 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds".[^17] ### How much The project's dossier puts the total at roughly $250 million, citing the Justice Department and Legislative Auditor sources above. This article has not confirmed that figure against the text of those releases.[^8][^7] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *United States Secretary of Agriculture* (rev. 1380208303, retrieved Oct. 27, 2026) — the secretary heads the Department of Agriculture; the role is comparable to agriculture ministers elsewhere. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Agriculture [^2]: Wikipedia, *United States Secretary of Agriculture*, "List of secretaries of agriculture" (retrieved Oct. 27, 2026) — commissioner from 1862; Cabinet office created 1889; party tally Democratic (14), Republican (19). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Agriculture [^3]: Wikipedia, *United States Secretary of Agriculture* (retrieved Oct. 27, 2026) — Brooke Rollins secretary since February 13, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Agriculture [^4]: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, *Officials of the Kennedy Administration* — Freeman as Secretary of Agriculture; tenure January 21, 1961 – January 20, 1969. https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/life-of-john-f-kennedy/fast-facts-john-f-kennedy/officials-of-the-kennedy-administration [^5]: Miller Center, University of Virginia, *Orville Freeman (1961), Secretary of Agriculture* and *Orville Freeman (1963), Secretary of Agriculture* — Freeman's service in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. https://millercenter.org/president/kennedy/essays/freeman-1961-orville-secretary-of-agriculture ; https://millercenter.org/president/lbjohnson/essays/freeman-1963-secretary-of-agriculture [^6]: U.S. Congress, *Public Law 90-302, 82 Stat. 117* (approved May 8, 1968) — title; adds NSLA §13 under the heading "SPECIAL FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN"; authorization of $32,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1969–1971; meals through nonprofit or public institutions. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-82/pdf/STATUTE-82-Pg117.pdf [^7]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Minnesota Department of Education: Oversight of Feeding Our Future*, Special Review (June 2024) — names CACFP and SFSP; MDE administers them in Minnesota. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/pdf/2024-mdefof.pdf [^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *Feeding Our Future Ringleader Sentenced to 500 Months* (May 22, 2026) — sentence; sponsor in the Federal Child Nutrition Program; claims submitted to MDE; more than 250 sites; Judge Brasel's statement. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/feeding-our-future-ringleader-sentenced-500-months [^9]: Wikipedia, *Orville Freeman* (Time Table rows TL-0110, TL-0113) — Kennedy elected November 8, 1960 and names Freeman; Freeman sworn in January 20, 1961. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orville_Freeman [^10]: The American Presidency Project, *Remarks at the Signing of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966* (Oct. 11, 1966) — opening words addressed to Secretary Freeman; editorial note identifying Orville L. Freeman. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-signing-the-child-nutrition-act-1966 [^11]: Wikipedia, *United States Secretary of Agriculture*, "Line of succession" (retrieved Oct. 27, 2026) — order of succession, including FNS regional administrators. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Agriculture [^12]: Wikipedia, *United States Secretary of Agriculture* (retrieved Oct. 27, 2026) — Forest Service (297,000 sq mi), Food Safety and Inspection Service, Food Stamp Program. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Agriculture [^13]: LBJ Presidential Library, *Remarks at the Signing of the Child Nutrition Act* (Oct. 11, 1966) — Johnson's statement of the act's purpose; also at the American Presidency Project. https://www.lbjlibrary.org/object/text/remarks-signing-child-nutrition-act-10-11-1966 ; https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-signing-the-child-nutrition-act-1966 [^14]: Wikipedia, *United States Secretary of Agriculture* (retrieved Oct. 27, 2026) — Level I of the Executive Schedule; salary US$253,100 as of January 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Agriculture [^15]: The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud*, presidential action (March 2026) — anchor of at-issue entries 001 and 084; cited as the anchor, not for the entries' factual statements. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/ [^16]: The White House, *Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Establishes New Department of Justice Division for National Fraud Enforcement* (January 2026) — anchor of at-issue entry 010; the entry's counts (80 charged, 68 convicted) derive from a news tracker not cited here. https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/01/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-establishes-new-department-of-justice-division-for-national-fraud-enforcement/ [^17]: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, *Former Minneapolis Mayoral Aide and Safari Restaurant Co-Owner Both Plead Guilty* (Jan. 28, 2025) — guilty pleas; Safari Restaurant received more than $16 million. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/former-minneapolis-mayoral-aide-and-safari-restaurant-co-owner-both-plead-guilty-250 [^19]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Minnesota Department of Education: Oversight of Feeding Our Future*, Special Review (June 2024) — finding that MDE failed to act on warning signs known before the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/pdf/2024-mdefof.pdf