On September 28th, the Biden-Harris Administration hosted the second White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Historically, the first conference on the issues of hunger, nutrition, and health in America took place in 1969, which resulted in the momentous establishment of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program.
The support for the second conference can be traced to Massachusetts Congressman James P. McGovern Chairman of the House Rules Committee strong work with the people in the ground.
“This is a historic moment in the fight against hunger. I’m proud of the nationwide, grassroots organization we built to secure this conference. I’m grateful to President Biden and his team for listening to us and understanding that a hunger-free future is within America’s reach. And most importantly, I’m incredibly inspired by the thousands of everyday people—nonprofit volunteers, tribal leaders, teachers, doctors, faith leaders, people with lived experiences, and so many others—who contributed their times and talent to build this movement.”
McGovern helped to develop the local, state, and federal level support for this movement. His most significant contribution included securing $2.5 million in funding for the conference, by leading a bipartisan bill requiring the White House to host the Conference.
In his speech at the White House Conference, President Biden listed three key principles in his national strategy to meet his goal of eliminating hunger in the US by 2030
“First, help more Americans — I’ll say this again — help more Americans access the food that will keep their families nourished and healthy. There are a lot of food deserts out there. Second, give folks the option and information they need to make healthy dietary choices. Thirdly, help more Americans be physically active. People want to be; lots of times there’s no places to go to be active from where they live.”
The President announced strong financial support from private and government sectors. He said that the Federal government cannot do it alone. It will take coordination with state and local government, as well as community and company involvement to eliminate hunger by 2030.
“Everyone has an important role to play — local, state, territory, and Tribal governments and the federal government as well; the private sector; civil society; agriculture; philanthropy; academia. You know, for example, the Rockefeller Foundation and the American Heart Association are expanding research into the relationship between food health and health equity. And the Food, Nutrition, and Investor Coalition is investing $2.5 billion into proven technologies and startup companies, pioneering new ways for reducing hunger and improving nutrition. Today, we’re announcing over $8 billion in commitments from over 100 different organizations to help reach our goals.”
President Biden told the American people that the poor health outcomes caused by inadequate nutrition and exercise has brought the nation to its vulnerable state of health. Cancer and heart disease are two serious diseases driven by poor diet and exercise… heart disease being the leading cause of death in the nation. He described that his new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law begins to fix the problem by creating more space for children and adults to live, work, and play safely.
While the President proclaimed support and unity, it was clear that this country has achieved only minor gains in the fight against hunger and that the road ahead is still long. According to census data, while recent actions have brought hunger in the United States to its lowest level, there is still a 10-million person hunger gap. Additionally, the outcomes of increased chronic disease and the accompanying loss of productivity has cost America over $150 billion
According to Michael Fakhri, a hunger expert at the United Nations, the Conference missed its chance to speak up about the systemic causes and to discuss how to expand the “right to food” for all Americans. He described it was important to address racism, corporate control, and poverty and their causal relationship to hunger. In other words, the structural inequality in our society is the cause of the hunger problem in the United States.
Emily, a social worker at a community agency in Boston has shared her fears about the future for her families within the structural inequality around her:
“I am hoping that the conference will help. The previous and only other related White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health was held in 1969 – more than 50 years only. That event led to life changing programs like school lunches, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and changes to how we label foods. However, hunger is being exacerbated by inflation which is at levels not seen for 40 years. My hard working clients are unable to afford fresh fruits and vegetables for themselves and their kids anymore but they can’t apply for food stamps or go to food pantries because they are not poor enough. I am very worried for my clients who are making low wages. They cannot keep up with increasing prices at the market.”
We know that hunger disproportionately impacts poor, underserved communities, including communities of color, people living in rural areas, people with disabilities, older adults, LGBTQI+ people, military families, and military veterans. We also now know that in these areas there is unique lack of access to healthy, safe, and affordable food ie America’s food deserts, which is creating major health damage such as epidemic levels of obesity
The epidemic rates of obesity released by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) revealed alarming statistics on obesity. 36.3% of the population in the South were listed as obese. In Massachusetts and throughout New England, obesity rates ranged from 25 to 35%. Faye Flam wrote in an Oct 5, 2022 Bloomberg article: “Scientific understanding is challenging the conventional wisdom about hunger-now framing it as a scourge that afflicts not only people who get too few calories, but also those who consume mostly sugar and refined starch.”
The lesson learned is that health damage is not only caused by how little a person eats but about what they eat. The “right to food” must include the right to the option to healthy food. The epidemic rates of obesity amendment that claims a “natural, inherent, and unalienable right” to food was approved in Maine. In this legislation, the citizen’s right to food is protected when they can produce food locally without interference long as it is legal. This is a monumental concept, which inspired other states in the United States, as well as abroad.
In Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu has stated that one of her major goals is improving food access. More so than simple accessibility, though, Wu’s website describes her wider scope: The epidemic rates of obesity access to nutritious, affordable, and culturally relevant food is a universal human right; and it means enshrining the right to self-determination for communities to own and manage land for their own food provisioning. Food justice means social justice, dismantling the oppressive systems that undervalue our food chain workers, commodify our food supply, and threaten the stability of our climate.”
