News

Food and nutrition chief to address EBT conference

March 10, 2002

HERNDON, Va. -- Samuel Chambers, Jr., administrator of the US Agriculture Department's Food and Nutrition Service will deliver the keynote address of this fall's EBT--The Next Generation conference.

The announcement was made by H. Kurt Helwig, executive director of the Electronic Funds Transfer Association, whose EBT Industry Council is hosting the event.

The conference will be held Nov. 7-9 at the Madison Hotel in Washington DC. The keynote theme of the conference is "Empowering People through Emerging Technology."

Chambers, who has been FNS administrator since August 1998, oversees 15 domestic nutrition assistance programs -- including the food stamp program, the school lunch and breakfast programs, and the supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC) -- with a combined annual budget of more than $40 billion.

Prior to heading FNS, Chambers directed the Michigan Family Independence Agency for Wayne County, including the city of Detroit. That agency administers state and federal human services programs.

"We are fortunate to have Sam Chambers presenting USDA's vision for the future of electronic benefits transfer," Helwig said. "The Agriculture Department has been in the forefront of electronic benefits transfer movement, and we look forward to their continued leadership."

Now in its second year, EBT--The Next Generation is a national conference that examines the conversion of existing government services from paper documentation to electronic delivery via advanced card technologies, the Internet and interactive media. Four workshops, two plenary sessions and more than 20 breakout sessions are scheduled.