National WIC Association: “As one of the most successful outcomes of the first White House conference, WIC’s ongoing efforts to bolster nutrition security for millions of low-income Americans is a crucial part of any national strategy to reduce chronic diet-related conditions.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. - This morning, President Joe Biden announced that he will host a White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in September 2022. The Conference intends to end hunger and increase healthy eating and physical activity by 2030, so that fewer Americans experience diet-related conditions like diabetes, obesity and hypertension.
Brian Dittmeier, Senior Director of Public Policy for the National WIC Association (NWA), issued the following statement in response:
“Bold, comprehensive action is needed to address rising healthcare costs, which continue to put pressures on household budgets and federal spending. President Biden’s visionary leadership centers healthy food access as a core element of preventive medicine, bringing together state, local and tribal providers, nutrition and anti-hunger advocates, healthcare and industry stakeholders and researchers in a once-in-a-generation effort to end hunger, rein in chronic diet-related conditions like obesity, diabetes and hypertension and address persistent racial disparities in health and nutrition outcomes.
“As one of the most successful outcomes of the first White House conference in 1969, WIC’s ongoing efforts to bolster nutrition security for millions of low-income Americans is a crucial part of any national strategy to reduce chronic diet-related conditions. WIC’s effective and early nutrition intervention, fine-tuned in recent decades to reduce income-based disparities in childhood obesity, sets the stage for thoughtful investments to expand the public health reach of federal programs and new, bold strategies that will reimagine our nation’s food system and its intersection with healthcare services provided to young families.”
Ahead of the Conference, NWA will convene a series of listening sessions within the WIC community to inform this historic, bipartisan effort to leave a healthier and more resilient nation for our children.
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NWA is the go-to voice of and for WIC staff at more than 12,000 WIC locations across the country who work to support more than 6.2 million mothers and young children. NWA provides member-driven advocacy; education, guidance, and support to WIC staff; and drives innovation to strengthen WIC as we work toward a nation of healthier women, children, and their families. Learn more at www.nwica.org.