President Joe Biden will present his plan to improve the nation’s health and end hunger at this week’s long-anticipated White House conference on hunger, nutrition and health.
But with uncertainty over who will hold the gavel in Congress next year, it’s unclear if the administration will be able to see any legislation tackling those goals gain traction in the coming months and beyond.
“The critical question is: Is there going to be continued passion and commitment to actually implement the [White House] plan?” said Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and professor of nutrition at Tufts University who co-chaired an external task force that provided recommendations for the conference, along with chef and humanitarian José Andrés, who the White House has announced as a key speaker for the event.
Historically high food prices and a protracted baby formula food safety crisis — issues that have been easy targets for Republicans ahead of the election — have also dogged the administration in the lead-up to the conference.
“The president’s number one economic priority is tackling inflation and lowering prices for Americans. This month, we did see some welcome moderation in price increases for food at the grocery store. But we know that prices are still too high,” a Biden administration official said in a briefing with reporters.
Noreen Springstead, executive director of anti-hunger organization WhyHunger, is hopeful the conference will produce lasting results, but said unless there is a “massive paradigm shift,” it’s hard to see how the U.S. meets one of Biden’s longer-term goals — ending hunger by 2030 — especially as food inflation is hitting families so intensely right now.
“If you’re a single mom with three kids and you gotta put food on the table and pay the rent and for gas in the car, that’s just not doable,” Springstead said.
Biden will unveil a series of executive actions and policies to tackle hunger, nutrition and health disparities, including directives for the Food and Drug Administration to roll out voluntary nutrition guidance and for agencies to better coordinate to expand participation in federal nutrition programs.
But several key parts of the president’s plan rest on calling for Congress to pass legislation, including efforts to increase access to key nutrition programs and expand the number of children who can receive free school meals — the subject of an extended political fight in Congress. Details about the summit had been sparse in recent days, and many key congressional offices have yet to be read in on the specific plans. (A Biden official disputes that, saying that they held hundreds of bipartisan listening sessions for the conference with advocates and members of Congress.) Lastly, Biden will encourage private and philanthropic groups to help address a list of long-term goals, like ending hunger in the U.S. by 2030.
The Biden administration official said the president was committed to “pushing” Congress to move specific legislation to address food insecurity and health disparities, including extending the expanded child tax credit.
Lawmakers and advocates still have high expectations for the meeting, only the second since 1969. The inaugural conference led to sweeping policy changes that have lasted decades, such as a major expansion of government nutrition programs like food stamps. Matching that could be a challenge, given the short planning window and organization process that one person on an early White House stakeholder call described as “a clusterfuck.” White House officials strongly push back on that characterization.
Vulnerable Democrats on Capitol Hill are hopeful the president focuses on what the administration is doing to bring down food prices, as demand at many food banks across the country is higher than at any point during the pandemic.
“That’s my hope,” said one House Democratic lawmaker, who asked to speak anonymously in order to be candid. “But they haven’t told us anything.”
Packaged fruits are seen on shelves at the Houston Food Bank facility on Feb. 8, 2022 in Houston, Texas.
