Takeaways from the White House Conference on Health, Hunger, and Nutrition

Last month, TCG was invited to participate in the White House’s conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, which addressed food insecurity and diet-related diseases for the first time in over half a century. The COVID-19 pandemic shined a hard light on these issues, and with food inflation on the rise (up at least 13.1%) and the end of pandemic benefits and financial-support (i.e. free school meals, food stamp benefits), TCG and now the White House have made it their mission to improve food security and access to nutritious, delicious food.

In 2021, 1 in 10 households experienced food insecurity; this number increases to 16% in Philadelphia, representing over 250k locals. Among these issues, almost 15% of food-insecure households include children, an unfortunate growth that disrupts a decade-long downward trend. Food insecurity, which is linked to hunger, disproportionately impacts communities of color.

“If you look at your child and you can’t feed your child,

what the hell else matters?”

– Joe Biden, POTUS

Biden’s vision is to end hunger as well as to reduce diet-related diseases and health disparities by 2030. This is made possible by the $8 billion that were committed by Americans after the White House’s call-to-action this summer, including from in-kind donations and community-based organizations. Of this amount, $2.5 billion will be invested in start-up companies that are pioneering solutions to food insecurity (such as TCG), and $4 billion will support access to nutritious food and promote healthy eating and lifestyle choices.

But the 2030 goal cannot be achieved alone. The conference emphasized the importance of the private sector, such as non-profit and community groups like TCG, in helping to end hunger. With appropriate funding, these collective efforts will make a real difference in local communities.

Biden’s package is structured via five pillars:

(1) Improve food access and affordability

(2) Integrate nutrition and health

(3) Empower customers to make and have access to healthy choices

(4) Support physical activity for all

(5) Enhance nutrition and food security research

Highlights

(1) Improve food access and affordability

• More summer EBT benefits offered to children and expanded SNAP eligibility to engage older adults

• $2 million from the FMI – Food Industry Association toward food banks and anti-hunger organizations with the goal to reach 100 million consumers each year and make it easier to use SNAP and WIC benefits in online and retail settings

• National Grocers Association will expand access to full-service grocery stores stocking and selling fresh produce, meat, and dairy and also double the number of retailers offering SNAP online

(2) Integrate nutrition and health

• Pilot coverage of medically-tailored meals in Medicare and expanded counseling and education

• $75 million from the Dohmen Company Foundation to design and operationalize three initiatives in favor of “food is medicine”

• Wellory, with a $300 million donation, will provide free 1:1 nutrition counseling to up to 10 million uninsured Americans 

(3) Empower consumers to make and have access to healthy choices

• Updated nutrition criteria and expanded incentives for fruits, vegetables, and healthier options

• $44+ million from Danone to support 300 million Americans lower their sugar intake, educate consumers, shoppers, and healthcare providers, advance research, and innovate scalable community-based impact programs

• Action for Healthy Kids will partner with 50 school districts to implement programming on healthy eating, physical activity, and mental health, reaching 5 million children in vulnerable communities

(4) Support physical activity for all

• Investments in bringing communities together in parks and other outdoor spaces

• Community Gyms Coalition will use its 15,000+ partner gyms to launch a nationwide Fitness is Essential campaign, adding resources on nutrition and healthy eating, and offer free day passes and health and fitness consultations

(5) Enhanced nutrition and food security research

• Bolstered funding to inform nutrition and food insecurity policy, emphasizing equity and access

• Rockefeller Foundation and the American Heart Association, with $250 million and partners like Kroger, next spring will build a national Food is Medicine Research Initiative to improve health and health equity and include these programs in the healthcare system

Reforms to food packaging, targeting salt and sugar reduction, and to expand Medicaid and Medicare access to obesity counseling and nutrition have also been proposed. Additionally, the Biden Administration has committed itself to permanently extending the expanded, fully refunded child tax credit and expanded Earned Income Tax Credit, raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, and closing the Medicaid coverage gap.

These changes ultimately fall on a currently polarized Congress, which has so far refused to extend the child tax credit and universal free school meals. This partisan split threatens the success of the proposed legislation, and real progress will require collaboration with the private sector.

This summer’s call-to-action is relevant now more than ever and starts within your own community.

Want to help? Learn more about getting involved at TCG.