Food as medicine, waste reduction efforts could face headwinds following presidential election – prompting calls for fast action in coming months

At a luncheon hosted by Food Tank on Capitol Hill yesterday, Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree and Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley lauded efforts stemming from the White House conference to improve food access and affordability, promote food as medicine and reduce food waste – but they also urged more needs to be done and done quickly.

“We do not know what is going to happen in November. But we know that the momentum to end hunger is stronger than ever in this country,” McGovern told attendees at the luncheon. “Hunger is a political condition … to solve this problem, we have lacked the political will, [but] the political will is building. … Let us get everything we can … done to achieve the goals of this national strategy [on hunger, nutrition and health] … in the next few months.”

‘There are good things happening, but there are also challenges’​

To rally attendees and other stakeholders into action, McGovern used both a carrot and a stick.

“There are good things happening,” he said encouragingly. “But,” he added “there are also challenges.”

Pressley agreed, noting, “food insecurity is on the rise everywhere,” with one in eight Americans, including 13 million children, struggling to access sufficient food consistently.

“No one should know hunger. It is a humanitarian crisis. It is a moral failing. And it is a policy choice,” she added.

She explained that hunger is a “layered crisis” that includes rising food costs due to inflation, a lack of access to affordable transportation and housing and education.

But, she added, “It does not have to be this way.”

McGovern agreed, noting legislative policies enacted during the pandemic, such as a temporary increase in SNAP benefits, provided relief for those suffering hunger. But with the expiration of those higher benefits, he said, hunger and demand for food banks and pantries are on the rise again.

“To have a [proposed] Farm Bill that cuts SNAP by $30 billion is unconscionable to me,” he said of the House version of the Farm Bill which passed on a vote of 33 to 21 in late May.

Digging his heels in, he suggested if the bill is not modified to better support SNAP and address hunger, then the bill likely will not pass this year.

'The energy and momentum to get things done ... is greater than ever'

Despite McGovern’s pessimism about the upcoming Farm Bill, he says he remains optimistic about the progress he has seen since the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in the fall of 2022.

“Nearly two years after this historic conference, the energy and momentum to get things done, I believe, is greater than ever,” he said. “Good things are happening – just look at some of the major progress that we have made.”

As examples, he pointed to legislation that made permanent the Summer EBT program, recently rebranded as SUN Bucks​, which would give families with eligible school-aged children $120 per child to buy groceries during the summer months via an electronic benefits transfer (EBT).

In addition, he noted, several states now provide universal free school meals to their children, which is correlated with better attendance and academic performance.

Earlier this month, he added, the USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency along with FDA and the White House announced a National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics​ as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s effort to tackle climate change and hunger while simultaneously promoting a circular economy.

Pingree also called out the creation of the first fulltime food loss and waste liaison at the USDA, created by the 2018 Farm Bill – a move she suggested is addressing the “immoral and unconscionable” extent of food waste in the US and its environmental impact.

She explained 30-40% of food is wasted in the US and this contributes to about 8% of the country’s global greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition to the national strategy to reduce food loss and waste, she said she has promoted additional legislation to address food waste and loss, such as the Food Date Labeling Act, which would standardize expiration and best by dates on food. She also supports bills submitted by other members of Congress related to composting, increasing farmers access to digesters to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limiting liability for those who donate or repurpose would be wasted food.

Food as medicine gains traction, but faces tough questions​

McGovern also noted there have been a slew of follow up events for the White House conference, including those hosted by USDA, HHS and other stakeholders promoting food as medicine.

However, he added, these efforts face questions about return on investment, to which McGovern notes more pilots and research examining the cost savings of nutritional interventions are needed.

As an example, he pointed to the bipartisan legislation he helped introduce in the House late last year which would establish a pilot for medically tailored meals at 40 hospitals nationwide to expand access to what he calls a “very promising food as medicine intervention.”

As the presidential election nears, and with it the potential for reduced support for these efforts and massive turnover in politically appointees and civil servants who are working on these efforts, McGovern reiterated his call for fast action.

“We are so far behind in so many areas where we all know we should be the leaders. And it is only going to happen if you agitate and organize and get not only members of Congress, but members of the Administration to understand that there is a lot of support for moving in a better direction,” he said.