• Biden is hosting a conference on hunger, nutrition and health in Washington, D.C.
• His administration will announce more than $8 billion in private and public sector commitments.
• More than $4 billion will go to philanthropy aimed at improving access to nutritious food, promoting healthy choices.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden will host a hunger, nutrition, and health conference in Washington, D.C., where his administration will announce more than $8 billion in private and public sector commitments as part of its plans to end hunger and reduce diet-related disease by 2030.

The conference will outline new initiatives that business, civic, academic, and philanthropic leaders will take to improve food access and affordability, assist consumers in making healthy dietary choices, promote physical activity, and advance nutrition and food security research.

At least $2.5 billion of the $8 billion in new commitments to the action will go toward start-up companies focused on solutions to hunger and food insecurity. More than $4 billion will be invested in philanthropy to improve access to nutritious food, promote healthy lifestyle choices, and increase physical activity.

“We will have the president sharing remarks highlighting his commitment to the goal he has set out of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030, and making a call to action to all Americans knowing that we need a whole-of-society approach to solving these problems,” a senior administration official said in a call with reporters ahead of Biden’s remarks Wednesday.

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According to the White House, one of the administration’s plans is to propose a standardised front-of-package labelling system to help consumers better understand nutrition information. Furthermore, the Agriculture Department announced that the federal nutrition assistance programme known as SNAP will provide additional benefits totaling about $26 per person per month in the coming fiscal year. The White House also intends to provide 9 million more children with access to healthy, free school meals by 2032, as well as to expand SNAP eligibility and extend summer benefits to more children.

According to an administration official, 500 people will attend the conference on Wednesday, representing a “cross section” of urban and rural farmers, business leaders, academics, activists, community leaders, and state, local, and tribal governments — “people with lived experience from every corner of the country.” More than 1,000 people are expected to participate virtually, according to the official.

Before Biden speaks, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will make opening remarks and provide an overview of the national strategy. White House domestic policy adviser Susan Rice will also moderate a discussion with chairman Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Mike Braun, R-Ind., who introduced the legislation convening the conference with the late Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind.

The conference takes place more than 50 years after the first such gathering, which took place during the Nixon administration and resulted in the creation and expansion of programmes such as SNAP, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, and the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program.

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