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It’s an exciting day in the country as we kickoff the second, historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. It’s been more than 50 years since the last conference, which produced impactful, meaningful changes to improve USDA nutrition assistance programs, including SNAP, WIC, and school meals – all programs from which my family and I personally benefitted from when I was a child. Today, we are coming together to work towards ending hunger and reducing diet-related diseases and disparities in the U.S. by 2030. Meeting this challenge will take the whole country. I hope you join this effort.

It’s eight in the morning, and farmers with hand hoes and buckets have been here for two hours already, weeding and watering their plots before the heat of the day. Over 200 members of the Somali Bantu community of Lewiston, Maine, make the short drive out to Liberation Farms a few times each week to tend their crops. Visitors to our farm often comment on how few weeds they spot between stalks of corn. It’s not magic, we tell them: our farmers are constantly in friendly competition to see who can have the best-looking plot.

In May 2022, FNS Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Dr. Patty Bennett joined Maryland Department of Aging Deputy Secretary Bernice Hutchinson and other nutrition partners at Sandtown Winchester Senior Center in West Baltimore to promote “My Groceries to Go,” the Commodity Supplemental Food Program in Maryland.

Finding infant formula has been stressful for families across the country – especially for those who require specialized formula to meet their baby’s specific health needs. However, from the earliest stages of the shortage, FNS has worked to ensure WIC families have access to the infant formula they need.

Over the last two years, we’ve experienced major disruptions in the world of school meals – new realities stemming from pandemic-related school closures and supply chain disruptions which have impacted the cost and availability of food, staff, and supplies. Through it all, our dedicated school nutrition professionals have demonstrated a tireless commitment to ensuring kids remain fed and nourished.

They called the next participant; a woman and her child exited the waiting area to meet at my desk. I introduced myself and asked, “How are you doing today?” She reluctantly answered, “good” with disinterest in her eyes. I detected a Spanish accent which prompted me to ask which language she preferred to conduct the appointment in. She immediately perked up and replied, “I’m so happy you speak Spanish… my English is not good.”

It’s official! The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health will be on September 28^th – the first of its kind in over 50 years.

The Food Basket-Hawai‘i Island’s Food Bank took its first stride in creating place-based nutrition education resources for Hawai‘i’s keiki (the Hawaiian word for children). Launched in 2021, the book Kai and Hōkū Explore Foods of Hawaiʻi helps families and early childcare providers explore local fruits and vegetables with their children. It features the popular mascots, Kai and Hōkū, of the Keiki Heroes public health initiative as they learn about eight crops commonly grown in Hawai‘i, including ‘ulu (breadfruit) and kāpiki pākē (bok choy). The book offers hands-on learning activities and simple recipes, making each fruit and vegetable an exciting adventure and valuable learning experience for young food explorers.

Small community-based stores, such as corner stores, are convenient places to shop for simple food items. However, smaller stores often have limited inventory – especially for nutritious options. Cooking Matters Colorado and Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center’s School Wellness Programs engaged with three corner stores in Denver to pilot a SNAP-Ed campaign designed to improve healthy eating. The campaign focused on step-by-step recipe frameworks and offered supportive, educational, and practical examples for a flexible approach to recipes that better resonate with community members. Recipe frameworks are rooted in the understanding that recipes do not need to be followed exactly but can serve as a general formula to be adjusted according to budget, needs, and preferences.

In early August, Deputy Under Secretary Stacy Dean and I travelled to San Francisco for meetings and events related to the work the USDA Food and Nutrition Service does to support local communities. On August 3, we spent the day visiting programs around the Bay Area that have an impact on addressing hunger.