On June 30, the National Association of Counties (NACo) hosted a virtual listening session to inform the White House national strategy to end hunger, increase healthy eating and physical activity and reduce diet related diseases in the United States by 2030. This national strategy will be announced at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health (Conference) scheduled for September, 2022 in Washington, D.C.  

The listening session focused on two of the main pillars of the Conference:  

1. Improving food access and affordability 

2. Empowering all consumers to make and have access to healthy choices 

Roughly 60 county elected officials and senior county employees from across the nation attended this convening, offering their insight and ideas in response to advance questions provided by the White House. These questions included:  

• How has hunger or diet-related disease impacted your county and its residents? 
• What specific actions should the U.S. federal government, including the Executive Branch and Congress, take to improve food access and affordability and empower all consumers to make and have access to healthy choices? 
• What specific actions should local governments, our state partners, and other community stakeholders (including non-profit and private companies) take to improve food access and affordability and empower all consumers to make and have access to healthy choices? 
• What are opportunities for public- and private-sector partners to work together to improve food access and affordability and empower all consumers to make and have access to healthy choices? 
• What are innovative, successful activities already happening in your county that could inform actions at the federal level? 

Responses to these questions, along with county policy priorities outlined in the American County Platform (NACo’s permanent policy document), informed NACo’s memo submission to the White House.   

NACo thanks our federal partners for the opportunity to provide county recommendations for the national strategy to end hunger, obesity and diet-related disease by the year 2030 and we look forward to continuing to support a whole-government approach to our nation’s epidemic of food and nutrition insecurity.  

A recording of the listening session can be found here.  

NACo’s submission on county perspectives for the Conference can be found here.  

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• NACo Report: The County Human Services and Education Landscape 
• NACo Legislative Toolkit for Counties: Priorities for Strengthening the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
• NACo Policy Brief: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Reauthorization and Appropriations
• NACo Workshop: Strengthening Anti-Hunger Resources through the 2023 Farm Bill
• NACo Press Release: Counties Welcome White House Focus on Hunger, Nutrition 
• NACo Blog: President Biden Announces White House Conference on Hunger, Health and Nutrition