MANNA FoodBank is a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to sharing the issues that affect the people we serve across Western North Carolina.
We are excited to share that the Biden-Harris Administration will be hosting the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health on Wednesday, September 28. This is the first conference of its type in over 50 years; the last conference of this type during the Nixon Administration influenced many of the major food policy solutions that continue to support people today – including free and reduced school meals for children, SNAP (or food stamps), and other important anti-hunger initiatives.
As an organization focused on ending hunger in Western North Carolina, we are dedicated to advocating for the things that help achieve that mission. We are hopeful that this conference can be a springboard to creating real solutions to address both the immediate need for food that we see and serve here in WNC, and the root causes that continue to create circumstances where people find themselves forced to choose between food and other basic necessities.
In the months leading up to this conference, MANNA – along with our local and national partners – have shared information and stories from our region, participated in listening sessions, and provided opportunities for people currently facing hunger to share their lived experience directly with the White House.
We invite you to attend this conference on Wednesday, September 28 and be part of a national movement to bring attention to the ongoing issue of hunger in America. With our collective voices raised, we CAN be part of the solution to end hunger for millions, so that everyone has an opportunity to live and thrive, and pursue that American dream of a life of liberty and happiness.
Throughout the conference, we will be listening for the following areas that are part of our advocacy focus, including:
• Modernizing SNAP, and reaching those who fall into the “grocery gap”
• Universal school meals for children
• Improving nutrition security for seniors, veterans, young children, and other elevated-risk communities
• Increased federal food product support (commodities programs) to meet the real need
• Support for better, more equitable access to existing food resources
Please share this conference information and date with your networks. We encourage you to stream it on a company breakroom screen, in shared meeting spaces, and other locations where more people can watch. If you are an educator, we encourage you to consider how you might share this unique, real-time engagement activity with your students.
You can sign up for conference updates here.
Thank you for your support, your voice, and your dedication to helping support all of us in our moments of most need. Together, we truly can meet our mission to end hunger.
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MANNA FoodBank’s mission is to involve, educate, and unite people in the work of ending hunger in Western North Carolina.
