President Biden set a goal of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases — all while reducing health disparities. On September 28, 2022, the Administration hosted a White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to inspire collective, sustained action and mobilization across every segment of society.
It’s been more than 50 years since the first White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health was held in 1969. That pivotal event helped galvanize actions that included the creation of life changing programs like school lunches, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and changes to how we label foods.
Despite progress, the United States has yet to end hunger and is facing an urgent, nutrition-related health crisis — the rising prevalence of diet-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and certain cancers. Yet, hunger and diet-related diseases are largely preventable if they are prioritized.
Members of Congress from across the political spectrum called for the convening of a 2022 White House Conference, including U.S. Representatives James P. McGovern and the late Jackie Walorski and U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Mike Braun.
Watch President Biden’s announcement of the Conference below.
Cross-Sector Input
In the months leading up to the Conference and the release of a National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, the White House:
- Led an interagency workgroup with 25 agencies and regional commissions;
- Hosted a series of virtual listening sessions, including 6 public, regional listening sessions and numerous sector-specific listening sessions, including with individuals who had a lived experience with food insecurity or diet-related disease;
- Sought written ideas and stories from the public and received over 800 comments; and
- Encouraged over 150 partners to lead their own convenings around the country using the toolkit below.
Input gathered from these efforts informed the development of the National Strategy.
Check out the toolkit for partner-led convenings [PDF – 857.37 KB].
Partner Commitments
The White House collaborated with the CDC Foundation to encourage partners to make their own commitments towards ending hunger and reducing diet-related diseases. In the months leading up to the Conference, the White House launched a nationwide call to action to meet the ambitious goals laid out by the President. Americans responded — and advanced more than $8 billion in private- and public-sector commitments. Read the fact sheet to learn more.
If you are interested in making a commitment, learn how you can join the effort.
Satellite Events
In the days before, during, and after the Conference, the Administration encouraged external partners to host their own events nationwide using the toolkit below. Many followed the call — among them anti-hunger and nutrition advocates; community-based organizations; food companies; the health care community; trade associations; universities; philanthropy groups; and local, state, territory, and Tribal governments.
Partners held over 130 events, many of which were publicly available on the Conference website. These satellite events served as an opportunity to bring communities together, increase awareness, and inspire action to end hunger, improve nutrition and physical activity, and reduce disparities.
Check out the toolkit for partner-led satellite events [PDF – 1.37 MB].
Report on Current Federal Programming and Coordination Efforts Related to Food and Nutrition Insecurity and Diet-Related Diseases
The National Strategy builds on the federal government’s existing work to address hunger and diet-related diseases. HHS worked with other federal agencies to develop a report to Congress in July 2022 that identified current programming related to food and nutrition insecurity and diet-related diseases. The report identifies specific statutory, regulatory, and budgetary solutions to ending hunger and improving nutrition and health in the United States and the Territories.
