United States President Joe Biden announced plans to end hunger in the country by 2030 with help of private-sector partnerships that would assist in funding and implementing the ambitious goal.
The Democratic leader is planning to host a conference on Wednesday that would focus on hunger, nutrition, and health. It would be the first by the White House to address the issue since 1969. At the time, then-President Richard Nixon's conference was a pivotal moment that influenced the US food policy agenda for 50 years.
Ending Hunger in US by 2030
Nixon's conference resulted in a major expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps. It also paved the way for the Women, Infants, and Children program, which serves half the babies born in the US by providing their mothers with parenting advice, breastfeeding support, and food assistance.
The conference this year will be hosted by Biden with a focus on his goal of essentially ending food insecurity for all U.S. residents by the end of the decade. Furthermore, the plans seek to promote healthy eating, good nutrition, and physical activity so that fewer people are afflicted with diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and other diet-related diseases, as per the Associated Press.
Prior to the meeting, the Biden administration released a list of almost $8 billion in pledges to the cause from private companies, charitable groups, and industry groups. The sources of funding included both cash gifts and service offerings in kind.
These include a $20 million commitment from the Novo Nordisk pharmaceutical company that aims to improve access to healthy foods and safe spaces for physical activities in marginalized communities. Free mobile food pantries will be established with the help of a $3.85 million commitment from the Publix grocery store chain.
According to USA Today, the situation comes as people are struggling with food insecurity and are unable to consistently pay for food and more than 40% of residents have obesity. This is partly due to healthy options being more expensive or unavailable.
Private-Sector Funding
The Biden administration's detailed national plan outlined several ideas, including universal free school meals and summer foods programs for children. The plan also includes expanded screening for nutrition insecurity. Incentives to help people choose healthier food options and support farmers.
The new plan will also expand programs to feed healthy meals to people in health crises, offer more opportunities for safe physical activity and access to the outdoors, and additional research into health and nutrition. The president said during the Wednesday conference that while the task was bold, it was not too big to accomplish. He urged lawmakers to work together, arguing that cooperation was key to success.
Cardiologist and professor of nutrition at Tufts University, Dariush Mozaffarian said that the critical question now is if there is going to be continued passion and commitment to implement the White House's plan. Mozaffarian co-chaired an external task force that provided recommendations for the conference, along with Jose Andres, a chef and humanitarian who the White House announced as a key speaker at the event, Politico reported.
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