The White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health – may sound overwhelming… but keep reading because this is very important.
As an upcoming White House Conference will focus on “Food, Nutrition, and Health”, Houston Food Bank is preparing to present learned information from our neighbors with living experience on food insecurity, and solutions towards long-term stability.
The first and only White House Conference (WHC) on Food, Nutrition, and Health was in 1969… that was 53 years ago!! As a result of this conference, federal programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infant, and Children (WIC), and National School Lunch Program (NSLP) were created. It was a pivotal event that influenced the country’s food policy agenda forever. We are excited that another White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health will be held this year in September! The purpose of this conference is to provide the White House with solutions that will drive the success of families, children, and seniors. Our world has drastically changed since 1969, so we need better progress and significant changes to end hunger and close the disparities that drive it.
Unfortunately, we can’t feed our way out of food insecurity. By only providing for that basic need, we keep families dependent. They want to succeed by paying for their groceries and paying rent or a medical bill without having to sacrifice food and good nutrition to do it. When these families succeed, they can contribute to economic growth, prevent chronic illnesses, and end the vicious cycle of poverty in our country.
So, what is HFB doing to prepare for this White House Conference?
The Government Relations team at Houston Food Bank has been actively participating in listening sessions with the White House, Feeding America, and the Root Cause Coalition. In these listening sessions, we are able to gather information, brainstorm on new ideas, and talk strategy for September. We also have in-house experts at Houston Food Bank who have been extremely helpful to us in providing feedback on the difficult barriers they see in their daily work when interacting with our neighbors who are experiencing food insecurity. Most importantly, we will be engaging with various community members up until the White House Conference to give them the opportunity to tell us their stories and provide feedback to educate us better on the barriers they are experiencing.
Check the Houston Food Bank’s Advocacy page in September for information on what we learned and if you have lived/living experience with poverty and food insecurity, please tell us more here.