Biden details plan to end hunger, reduce diet-related diseases by 2030

Key takeaways

• The Biden administration is committing $8 billion toward its strategy to end hunger and reduce obesity by 2030.
• Part of the initiative aims to improve medical training to help physicians identify food insecurity.

Speaking at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, President Joe Biden announced more than $8 billion in funding as part of the administration’s strategy to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases in the U.S. by 2030.

“The national strategy recognizes the critical role that nutrition plays in our health and our health care system and acknowledges that we have to give families the tools to keep them healthy,” Biden said.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 33.8 million Americans lived in food-insecure households throughout 2021, with 3.8% (5.1 million) of households experiencing “very low” food security.

Additionally calling high obesity rates to attention, Biden highlighted several initiatives that his strategy will tackle, which include:

• ensuring 9 million more children are eligible for free school meals while supporting school lunch programs;

• training physicians, nurses and dentists to identify food insecurity in patients;

• expanding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to incentivize purchasing fruits and vegetables; and

• increasing access to parks, hiking and biking, particularly for low-income communities.

In a statement, Ryan D. Mire, MD, FACP, president of the ACP, commended the administration’s strategy while detailing the health risks associated with food insecurity. “These health impacts can be observed in the heightened health care utilization rates and costs experienced by food insecure individuals,” he wrote.

Mire added that many of the ACP’s recommendations to combat food and nutrition insecurity are present in the strategy.

“This includes expanded access to and increased funding of federal nutrition assistance programs, streamlining enrollment processes and making it easier to use these benefits, and integrating nutrition education and screening for food insecurity into Medicare and other federal health programs,” he said.

References:

• Biden J. Opening plenary. Presented at: White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health; Sept. 28; 2022; Washington, D.C.
• Food security in the U.S. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-u-s/key-statistics-graphics/#foodsecure. Accessed Sept. 28, 2022.
• Internal medicine physicians say administration’s strategy to end hunger and improve nutrition will improve public health. https://www.acponline.org/acp-newsroom/internal-medicine-physicians-say-administrations-strategy-to-end-hunger-and-improve-nutrition-will. Published Sept. 27, 2022. Accessed Sept. 28, 2022.