Public Policy Update

Hello NvAND!

As usual, I’m pretty excited about what’s going on in the realm of food and nutrition policy. This month, we’re going to learn about a couple of major things on the public policy radar: The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health
This conference is long overdue. The first Conference was held in 1969. The recommendations delivered from that Conference became the bedrock of America’s action on hunger and nutrition. In that conference, some 1,800 recommendations were developed and delivered. Over the following two years, 1,650 of those recommendations were implemented in some way, shape, or form - including the creation of WIC, and the expansion of both the Food Stamp Program and the National School Lunch Program. If you’d like to learn more about the 1969 conference, check out the 50th Anniversary Report released in 2019.

The 2nd Conference is in the planning phase. Of immediate importance are listening sessions set up for the public to share thoughts and ideas regarding the scope of the Conference. Our session - West Coast & Pacific - is on Thursday, June 9, from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm. Click on this link to register. There will be breakout sessions within these meetings for more specific guidance. You’ll be asked to indicate your top 2 choices for breakout sessions during registration. Click here to learn more about the new Conference, and to sign up for updates.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are recommendations and are not public policy per se. However, these Guidelines inform policies and programs that deliver food to individuals, including the NSLP, SBP, CACFP, and many more. 

The process for 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans is already starting up. The process itself is quite lengthy, taking a good 2.5 years from start to publication. The first call for public comment (on scientific questions) has ended, but there will be more to come.

Learn more about the process at dietaryguidelines.gov, Work Under Way. You can sign up for updates, make public comments, view public comments, view information about the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), view meeting agendas, and even stream the DGAC meetings live. The pic below gives you an overview of the 2020-2025 DGA process, and you can expect the same general timeline for this iteration of the Guidelines.

As always, keep an eye on the Academy’s Action Center for Action Alerts. Legislation like the MNT Act of 2021, the Health Equity and Accountability Act, and the DEMAND Act are all still making their way through the process.

Feel free to contact me with any questions!
Have a wonderful June!

Dawn Matusz, MS, NDTR
Public Policy Coordinator
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