WASHINGTON — The federal government’s influence on what millions of people eat extends from school lunches for children to the dining halls of the Air Force, Army, Marines and Space Force.
The Biden administration’s national strategy to end hunger by 2030 and to improve the U.S. diet aims to tap into federal agencies’ ability to set policies and menus. The administration touted $8 billion in commitments, largely from the food sector, but it steered clear of imposing new mandates on the private sector — at least for now.
The strategy, a mix of executive branch actions and legislative priorities issued a day before the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health on Wednesday, may have its most immediate effect in areas where the federal government is most closely involved in providing food. With several hundred participants, the conference echoed a similar, but more extensive event in 1969.
