Fifty-two years ago this week, the Nixon Administration convened a national conference on ending hunger that resulted in landmark legislation, including the creation of WIC. The conference was considered a breakthrough success in addressing the food and nutrition issues of the time.
This week, Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern is revving up his efforts to rally government officials around hosting another major White House convening on hunger, health, food and nutrition. On the Monday morning after Thanksgiving, he met with New York City and State leaders in hunger relief to engage them in the all-out lobbying effort.
The way McGovern sees it, it’s now-or-never time. “Our focus is to get the White House to say yes by the end of the year” to a conference, McGovern said at the meeting, which was hosted by Met Council, the country’s largest Jewish charity, and organized by Feeding New York State.
The push follows McGovern’s introduction in late October along with two other representatives of a bill that would provide $2.5 million to support a White House conference and lay the groundwork for a government-wide approach to ending hunger and resolving nutrition insecurity.
McGovern has been advocating for a national conference on hunger for years, and especially since the election of Joe Biden, whom McGovern said is supportive of the plan. Similar efforts to engage the Obama administration never gained momentum, McGovern said.
A go-ahead by year-end would ease the way for a conference to take place in 2022, well before the distraction of the next presidential election, he said. McGovern foresees a major event, lasting one or even two weeks, befitting the complex nature of the ongoing hunger problem.
Unlike 52 years ago when severe hunger was a top issue, the current conference must address hunger’s intersection with so many other variables, including nutrition, chronic illness, health care costs, food access, transportation, climate change, and even the military, as obesity threatens national security by disqualifying young people from service.
McGovern is steadfast about one thing: that the conference include representatives from all government departments. The transportation department, for example, needs to ensure food access, while Health and Human Services needs to support the concept of food as medicine. The energy and housing departments need to be aware of the potential for utility bills and rents to crowd out food budgets.
“The only thing I’m insisting on is that this not be only a USDA conference,” McGovern said. “Every agency and department has a role to play.”
As a long-time anti-hunger advocate, McGovern is accustomed to seeing progress against hunger occur in piecemeal fashion. “There’s no coordinated effort” within the government, he noted. “I’m here because I think we can do better and hunger is a solvable problem.” — Chris Costanzo
CAPTION ABOVE: Jim McGovern, D-Mass., wearing an End Hunger Now mask, with David Greenfield, CEO of Met Council.
Like what you’re reading?
Support Food Bank NewsConnect with Us:
