President Biden on Wednesday hosted a White House summit on combating hunger, only the second such conference since 1969. He announced $8 billion in public and private funds for improving food access and nutrition by 2030 and laid out proposed and planned poles to decrease food insecurity. "This goal is within our reach — just look at how far we've come on child poverty," Biden said. "If you look at your child and you can't feed your child, what the hell else matters?"
"First, help more Americans access the food that will keep their families nourished and healthy — a lot of food deserts out there," Biden said at the summit. "Second, give folks the option and information they need to make healthy dietary choices. Thirdly, help more Americans be physically active." He proposed making school lunches free for 9 million more children, reducing sugar and sodium in U.S. foods, and other initiatives.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Walorski was at the "top of the mind for the president" because of her role in pushing for the summit and because he is welcoming her family to the White House on Friday to sign legislation naming a Veterans Affairs clinic in Indiana in her honor. White House reporters kept returning to the question, and Jean-Pierre kept repeating her answer.
"I have John Lennon top of mind just about every day but I'm not looking around for him anywhere," one reporter protested. "When you sign a bill for John Lennon as president, then we can have this conversation," Jean-Pierre replied.
The first White House conference on hunger, hosted by President Richard Nixon, led to enduring public policy changes like a large expansion of food stamps and other government nutrition programs.
-
Quiz of The Week: 15 – 21 NovemberQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
Can the UK do more on climate change?Today's Big Question Labour has shown leadership in the face of fraying international consensus, but must show the public their green mission is ‘a net benefit, not a net cost’
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will US Catholics rebel against the Pope?Podcast Plus what are the ethics of freezing your late partner?
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
-
Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defectionsSpeed Read The president said House Republicans should vote on a forced release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
