White House conference on hunger, nutrition slated for this September
On May 4, President Biden announced that he will convene a White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September. The goals of the conference are to “end hunger and increase healthy eating and physical activity by 2030, so that fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.” Conference details are forthcoming. The Administration is planning to hold a number of virtual, regional listening sessions beforehand to gather input on what ideas should be included in the Conference. Click here to sign up for updates on the Conference.
Congress appropriated $2.5 million for the event in the FY 2022 spending bill. That effort was the result of a bipartisan effort led by Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA), Jackie Walorski (R-IN) and Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Mike Braun (R-IN). The last White House conference on food was held in 1969 during the Nixon administration led to a major expansion of food stamps and school meals access.
SNEB signed onto two letters supporting the 2022 conference.
As Helen Denning Ullrich reports in The SNE Story that SNE members served on four panels on nutrition teaching and nutrition education during the 1969 conference: George Briggs was cochair of the Panel on Nutrition Teaching in Elementary and Secondary Schools; Helen Walsh cochaired the Panel on Community Nutrition Teaching; Ruth Huenemann served on the Panel on Advanced Academic Training; and Philip White cochaired the Panel on Popular Education.
Additionally, a JNE supplement with a subscription form was distributed to all participants at the White House Conference. This photo shows Jean Mayer, Special Consultant to President Nixon, and George Briggs, Panel Chair, distributing the Journal’s first supplement issue at the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health, 1969.
