The LuLac Edition #4, 816, September 28th, 2022

 

BIDEN NUTRITION  SUMMIT TODAY

 

The first White House nutrition summit in a half-century is due to kick off today  at a difficult political moment, with President Biden eager to put his imprint on food policy but areas for bipartisan cooperation scant.

The gathering, patterned on the summit former President Richard Nixon convened in 1969, comes after America's health vulnerabilities were laid bare by the pandemic.

 Obesity and other food-related diseases like diabetes were closely linked with a far higher risk of serious illness and death from COVID.

The COVID public health emergency also allowed more families to access food via safety net programs like the Women, Infants, Children program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as well as free or reduced-price school lunches. Food insecurity, especially in children, has been found to be associated with worse health outcomes, such as asthma and diabetes.

Biden has said he wants to end hunger and food insecurity by 2030.

The big picture: Nixon's summit wound up shaping decades of food policy — even sparking the creation of such programs as WIC and SNAP.

"The 1969 conference was considered a huge success, but many factors contributed to the success including strong political will from the White House and from Congress," Frank Hu, a Harvard professor of nutrition and epidemiology told Axios. "I think we are at another historical crossroads facing unprecedented challenges but it may take some years to achieve a similar impact."

What to expect: Sodium warnings and medically tailored meals are among the topics that will likely surface.

While many proposals are built around executive branch actions, there's a long wish list for Congress in a plan the White House released this morning.

The 40-page document calls for for school meals for all, nutrition and obesity counseling for Medicare beneficiaries, a permanent extension of the child tax credit and expansion of SNAP, WIC and summer EBT programs.

It envisions the FDA developing a front-of-package food labeling scheme, bringing WIC and SNAP shopping online and screening individuals for food insecurity at federal health facilities.

Senior administration officials during a Monday press call expressed the hope there would be some areas for some bipartisan consensus.

Between the lines: As we saw with COVID, this will be an opportunity for the administration to highlight pledges for assistance from private companies. 

This is a prime example of the Biden administration keeping a promise and trying to make life better and healthier for Americans. After all, isn't this is what a President is supposed to do?  (Axios, Lulac)