The Biden administration on Tuesday announced 141 new commitments from private companies, non-profits and others to help improve nutrition and reduce hunger in America.
The pledges, which are an outgrowth of the White House hunger conference in 2022, were announced at a White House event Tuesday that included Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, chef José Andrés, Washington Mystics basketball player Elena Delle Donne, and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
“No one should have to wonder where their next meal will come from in the United States of America,” said Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden’s domestic policy adviser. “No one should have to lose a loved one to a preventable disease because they were not eating healthy in their lives."
The Harlem Globetrotters, a barnstorming basketball team, headlines the list of commitments with a pledge to begin a two-year partnership with KABOOM!, a non-profit organization that helps build playgrounds. The partnership will “lead a national public awareness campaign on the important link between good nutrition and healthy physical activity,” according to a White House summary.
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The supermarket chain Ahold Delhaize USA will spend “almost $1 million to reach more than 200,000 children with nutrition messaging in 2024,” the summary said. The company will also “address the root cause of hunger” by offering jobs and “connecting with non-profit organizations, regional food banks and food pantries to provide information on hiring events and job opportunities.”
Ahold Delhaize brands include Food Lion, Giant Food and Stop & Shop.
Among other commitments, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is creating a standard benefit for members that includes a one-on-one nutrition pilot and twice-monthly delivery of healthy food.
Food Forward, a produce recovery operation in California, “will recover 290 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste, and distribute this surplus free of charge to people experiencing food insecurity,” according to the White House summary.
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