The United States has one of the most abundant food supplies in the world, yet 47 million Americans live in food insecure households, including 13.8 million children. Chronic disease related to hunger and poor nutrition is among the leading causes of death and disability. Furthermore, nearly half of adults and 20% of children have obesity, a major risk factor for chronic disease.
This World Food Day, the Interfaith Campaign for Food and Nutrition Security — a diverse array of religious and secular organizations working at the intersection of hunger, nutrition, and health — and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) call upon the need for collective action toward achieving the bold and ambitious goals laid out in the 2022 White House National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to “end hunger in America and increase healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related disease.”
We recognize the challenges we face to achieve food and nutrition security for all, both in the world at large and specifically in the United States. Millions of U.S. residents cannot afford to feed their families well; thus, hunger and related chronic disease have become a serious problem in virtually every rural, suburban, and urban community across the country. Systemic barriers and structural racism prevent many Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic communities, and communities where people live with low incomes from accessing and affording a healthy diet, leading to higher disease rates. Malnutrition has societal impacts, resulting in increased healthcare spending and lower academic achievement for school-aged children. Further, it reduces worker productivity, jeopardizing our economic competitiveness.
When health and anti-hunger advocates work together, we can make meaningful progress toward food and nutrition security. Together, the members of the Interfaith Campaign for Food and Nutrition Security and CSPI can continue to advance food and nutrition security by:
- expanding access to free, healthy school meals for all children, ensuring that summer nutrition programs (SUN Programs) are offered in all states;
- safeguarding sufficient funding for WIC;
- working to strengthen food package standards to align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans;
- protecting and strengthening SNAP benefits, including the expansion of SNAP fruit and vegetable incentives through the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP);
- increasing access to SNAP for all who need it, regardless of circumstance.
The Alliance to End Hunger
