White House Addresses Hunger in America

These numbers are staggering, and for the first time in over a century, our nation is addressing the issue of food insecurity. On September 28, President Joe Biden hosted the first White House summit dedicated to combating hunger. They announced that they had secured over $8 billion of public and private commitments to help provide Americans with better food and nutritional support by 2030. According to The Washington Post, “at least $2.5 billion will be invested in start-up companies trying to come up with solutions for hunger and food insecurity,” and more than $4 billion will come in the form of pledges “aimed at improving access to nutritious food, promoting nutritious choices, and increasing physical activity.”

The same Washington Post article stated, “Biden suggested that the government, along with the corporate world, could play a bigger role in making nutritious food available in places where the supply is inadequate.” Food pantries and the local community can only do so much. 

Over the day-long conference, President Biden declared that his three main goals and steps are to: “First, help more Americans access the food that will keep their families nourished and healthy — 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.” 

Making sure there is enough food for everyone is just part of solving the problem. Healing people’s relationship with food and making nutritious and culturally-relevant food available is just as important. Food insecurity can lead to significant adverse health problems for both children and adults. Children have a higher risk of asthma, anemia, poor cognitive performance and behavior problems if they are food insecure. Adults are at a higher risk of depression, asthma, diabetes and hypertension. “The pervasiveness of diet-related diseases creates broader problems for the country,” White House officials said, including military readiness, mental health, workplace productivity and academic achievement.  

Some of the specific policies that Biden promised are to expand free school meals to nine million more children in the next decade, improve transportation for the ~40 million Americans who have difficulty accessing grocery stores and farmers’ markets, reduce food waste (according to the White House, ⅓ of all food in the U.S is uneaten), addressing marketing that promotes fast food, and much more. 

At the Newton Food Pantry, we pride ourselves in already participating in many of Biden’s goals. We offer a wide variety of pantry staples, as well as fresh and nutritious foods. Our clients can choose from a large selection of culturally-relevant foods, so they don’t feel pressured to change cultural norms in order to eat. And, our many gleaner partners facilitate the rescue and distribution of healthy, fresh foods that would otherwise be discarded.

Food insecurity is a serious problem that has no “quick fix,” but hopefully with these new moves by the White House, the future could look brighter than it does now.