The Bipartisan Policy Center has launched the Food and Nutrition Security Task Force to improve access to healthy foods and diet quality for all Americans. Leading the one-year effort are former Agriculture Secretaries Dan R. Glickman and Ann M. Veneman, chef and founder of World Central Kitchen, José Andrés, and FMI president and CEO Leslie Sarasin.
Other task force members come from companies such as Feeding America, the National WIC Association, Kaiser Permanente, and the United Fresh Produce Association.
The goal of the task force will be to assess both legislative and administrative policy opportunities and issue recommendations that will: improve food and nutrition security during COVID-19 and the economic recovery, strengthen the Child Nutrition Programs, including the Child Nutrition Reauthorization, and enhance the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other food assistance programs, including through the Farm Bill. The group will also develop ideas for public and private sector collaboration to address food and nutrition security.
“There is an urgent need to develop solutions to address both food and nutrition security in the context of COVID-19 and beyond,” said Glickman, in a statement. “Poor nutrition and diet-related diseases and conditions, such as obesity, lead to poor health outcomes and higher health care costs. Our aim is to design solutions that not only help Americans get enough calories but also the right kind of calories. A commitment to health equity will also be central to the task force’s recommendations.”
Over the next year, the task force will hold several public events and issue a series of policy briefs with recommendations.
“FMI and its members representing the business of food—wherever it is bought, sold or produced—recognize the important role we play in ensuring access to affordable, safe, and healthy foods for all Americans,” said Sarasin, in a statement. “We look forward to working with leaders across all sectors to identify innovative policy solutions to eliminate food insecurity—one of America’s leading challenges.”
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