MINNEAPOLIS — It's the first White House Hunger, Nutrition and Health Conference in half a century.
"It's been over 50 years since President Nixon convened the original White House conference, and that single conference and the laws it inspired led to transformational change," President Joe Biden said during Wednesday's conference.
In 2021, one in ten households experienced food insecurity, with the Biden-Harris Administration vowing to fight hunger and diet-related diseases nationwide.
"We work with over 350 food shelves across the state so they have the resources to serve their communities," said Rachel Holmes with Hunger Solutions Minnesota.
Holmes told KARE 11 that the latest initiative is a long time coming, saying, "Over 400,000 Minnesotans are faced with food insecurity right here in our home state."
She added that during the height of the pandemic, there was help to tackle food insecurity but recently, "that help is kind of dwindling down now and we are seeing a huge increase, in need in our state," she explained. "Preliminary data shows food shelf visits are up 60% since the start of the year."
The Biden-Harris Administration announced on Wednesday more than $8 billion in private and public sector commitments toward its goals.
The proposal includes offering additional benefits through the SNAP program and expanding access to healthy, free school meals for 9 million more children by 2032.
Holmes says in the end it will take a joint effort to help fight food insecurity and hunger across the board.
"It's helping people out, being a good neighbor, caring about your community and doing what you can," she said.
For more information on the Biden-Harris Administration's National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, click or tap here.
To find out more about Hunger Solutions, click or tap here.
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