In anticipation of today’s White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, First Focus on Children President Bruce Lesley issued the following statement:
“Today’s conference represents the first serious look at hunger and nutrition in this country in a half-century and the first opportunity to end childhood hunger and all of its detrimental effects. Over the last three years we’ve learned that government policy can in fact reduce hunger and food insecurity among children and we urge attendees to outline concrete steps for achieving that goal and to rely on these proven policies. We are encouraged by the focus on addressing children’s and families’ access to affordable food and supporting children’s play spaces, and applaud the comprehensive approach to solving these issues taken by the Biden Adminstration strategy released in advance of today’s event. By acknowledging the interconnected factors that affect children’s nutritional health — economic and geographic inequities, lack of knowledge on importance of nutrition, racial and ethnic background — lawmakers have the tools to produce clear solutions.”Today’s White House hunger conference must outline clear solutions for children
In a June letter, First Focus on Children and more than two dozen partner advocates urged the Administration to explore some of the very issues under consideration, such as improvements to the food and nutrition security provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; how to support and strengthen the role that educational institutions, childcare through college, play in solving food insecurity; racial and ethnic disparities in child food and nutrition insecurity; improvements to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the recommendations of reducing sugar, trans fats, and sodium; investing and building upon the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children’s (WIC) ability to address the nutritional needs of millions of women and children; ensuring that all children are able to be physically active in safe and accessible environments; and the importance of the gut-brain connection and its impact on behavioral health and academic achievement.