Illinois Ag Connection - FSF Report Released Parallel to Historic White House Conference on Hunger

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FSF Report Released Parallel to Historic White House Conference on Hunger
Illinois Ag Connection - 09/30/2022

Food Systems for the Future (FSF), Chicago, released a comprehensive report outlining the outcomes of the Good Food Dialogues project. Amplifying Stories of Food Access and Affordability to Shape Equitable Food Policy summarizes the discussions, findings, and recommendations proposed by hundreds of stakeholders invested in reducing food insecurity and the rate of diet-related diseases in the United States.

Through nationally advertised Good Food Dialogues events and activities -- a combination of moderated conversations and online submissions -- participants shared their opinions and solutions for improving the nation's food system, ahead of the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over 50 years. Participant feedback was submitted to the White House on a rolling-basis, to inform the policy discussions taking place in Washington D.C. at this week's conference.

During the months of August and September, more than 700 people with diverse lived experiences, community leaders, entrepreneurs, health practitioners and many more stakeholders -- representing over 100 cities coast to coast, and 30 organizations -- gathered virtually or in-person to reflect on the barriers keeping the more than 33.8 million Americans who are food insecure from accessing healthy, nutritious food and proposed solutions for ending hunger, addressing health disparities, and reducing diet-related diseases.

Throughout the Report, Good Food Dialogues participants identified many systemic barriers to achieving universal access to healthy, nutritious, affordable food but greatest among them are the issues of poverty and economic insecurity; climate justice; insufficient state and federal resources to address hunger and nutrition; and pervasive disinvestments in communities of color.

"The U.S. is confronting a ballooning hunger and nutrition crisis. Today the availability and affordability of nutritious food affects tens of millions of people - particularly those in economically disadvantaged communities," said Amb. Ertharin Cousin, Founder and Managing Director of Food Systems for the Future. "The White House Conference provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to come together around a renewed whole-of-society effort to end hunger, address health disparities and eliminate diet-related diseases. Through Good Food Dialogues, people living with these challenges and their community allies got to have a say in how we tackle these issues. These dialogues provided additional evidence that there is no one simple solution to fixing the structural problems affecting our food system, confirming the need for a multisector commitment to and investment in a just, equitable, and sustainable food system that meets the environmental needs of our planet; the health needs of the population; creates opportunities to scale smaller food producers, particularly those owned by BIPOC entrepreneurs; improves the wasteful and harmful aspects of current food production and distribution; and ensures geography and income are never barriers to accessing healthy, nutritious, affordable food."

Over 60 participant-proposed recommendations in the Report reflect a myriad of policy and community-led solutions for health and hunger disparities and align with the five pillars informing the scope of the White House Conference. These pillars include: improve food access and affordability, integrate nutrition and health, empower all consumers to make and have access to healthy choices, and enhance nutrition and food security research.

FSF believes a bold, actionable agenda in response to the nation's greatest food challenges is possible through a strong multi-sector coalition of willing partners and investors.

To help catalyze and mobilize around the best ideas outlined in the Report, Good Food Dialogues will remain an active platform and serve as a tool for invested stakeholders to continue collaborating on hunger, nutrition, and health policies and engaging on topics related to the implementation and perceived gaps of the Biden Administration's new national food policy strategy.

FSF thanked Good Food Dialogues sponsors Tyson Foods, PepsiCo Foundation, and the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University for their support of this ongoing project. Read the report at https://bit.ly/3SN0mci

FSF catalyzes, enables, and scales market-driven agtech, foodtech, and innovative businesses across the value chain to improve nutrition outcomes in underserved and low-income communities. Through wraparound support to enterprises and broader ecosystem building, FSF addresses barriers to affordability, availability, and awareness of healthy, nutrient dense foods through five core services: financing, business acceleration, public policy & education, partnerships & community engagement, and nutrition expertise. FSF currently operates in the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa.

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