The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, to be held this September, provides an opportunity to build upon the strong foundation of federal nutrition programs to increase effectiveness and deepen the programs’ reach so that everyone in the U.S., no matter their background or zip code, can have access to the food and resources they need to thrive.
The Feeding America network of 200 food banks, 21 statewide associations and 60,000 partner food pantries and meal programs believes that centering the voices of people facing hunger is critical to the Conference’s work. As the Feeding America network connects with tens of millions of people each year in all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, we have seen how vital the voices and experiences of people facing hunger are to devising better solutions and how essential their insights are toward building an America where no one is hungry.
Feeding America is guided by several principles that we urge the White House and federal elected officials keep front and center, as we approach this crucial work collectively:
- The conference and the solutions identified should be grounded by and reflect the voices of people facing hunger.
- The conference and the solutions identified should be grounded in preserving the dignity and agency of people facing hunger to make their own choices of what foods help their families thrive. People experiencing food insecurity need more choices, not less.
- New programs and approaches must be implemented which end the racially and geographically disparate outcomes perpetuated by the current system, solving for “race and place” inequities.
- We must keep hunger and food insecurity at the forefront of the conference goals by doing the most good for our nation’s most vulnerable. By doing so, we will lift up all other issues connected to food insecurity – including health, wellbeing, education, and workforce development.
- We must continue to expand access to nutritious food through charitable food access and nutrition programs for people facing hunger and marginalized communities, particularly for people facing hunger impacted by diet related disease.
- Bold solutions require broad support – we cannot harness the power of a nation to end hunger without engaging every citizen, elected official, and organization that we can. To do this, the policy solutions put forth to end hunger should be nonpartisan and grounded in science and data.
Feeding America is committed to elevating the voices of the tens of millions of people who turn to the charitable food sector for help. We also believe that the very solutions to the problems communities face lie within them, and we will listen and support communities in whatever ways they need us to bring those issues to light. Through this approach, then together, we can achieve our vision where no one goes hungry, everyone has access to nutritious food, and all communities across America thrive.
Contact
Please contact one of our media representatives or call 800-771-2303
About Feeding America
Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, we helped provide 5.3 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; brings attention to the social and systemic barriers that contribute to food insecurity in our nation; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on X.com.