Food Justice Advocates Call for Urgent Action at the White House Amid Rising Grocery Prices and Food Insecurity: A Push for a National Food and Nutrition Security Council and Food Bill of Rights

WANDA: Women Advancing Nutrition, Dietetics, and Agriculture have received an invitation to engage with Biden-Harris Administration officials regarding the progress of the President's comprehensive agenda aimed at advancing racial equity and supporting underserved communities. The meeting provides an essential forum for discussing how these efforts align with the U.S.'s international commitments to protect domestic human rights, including the right to food.

The urgency of this meeting is underscored by alarming trends in grocery redlining and rising grocery inflation. Recent USDA Economic Research Service data reveals that food insecurity rates are increasing, with Black households experiencing food insecurity at a rate of 20%, Latinx households at 16%, and White households at just 7%. This disparity highlights the critical need for action to dismantle systemic barriers that prevent access to nutritious food.

As grocery prices soar, marginalized communities are disproportionately affected, often forced to choose between basic necessities and healthy food options. This economic strain perpetuates food apartheid—a term defined by food justice advocate Karen Washington to describe how access and quality of food are determined by geography, race, and class.

Tambra Raye Stevenson, founder and CEO of WANDA, will provide remarks at the White House: "This meeting is a critical step toward acknowledging food as a human right and addressing the systemic injustices that have marginalized communities for far too long. We must harness the momentum from the U.N. recommendations to create a food system that is equitable, just, and inclusive for all Americans."

This opportunity follows the dedicated work of the University of Miami School of Law's Human Rights Clinic and advocates to include the Right to Food in discussions during the 2022 U.N. Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The U.S., which has ratified the treaty, must now respond to the Committee's recommendations, which emphasize the necessity for a rights-based national plan to combat hunger and food insecurity—issues that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities, especially women and children. The Committee urges the U.S. to engage stakeholders from communities most impacted by food insecurity.

The CERD Committee emphasized the need for the U.S. to guarantee the right to adequate food and to adopt a comprehensive, rights-based national plan to combat hunger and food insecurity—issues that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities, especially women and children. The Committee encouraged the U.S. to engage stakeholders, particularly those from communities most affected by food insecurity.

WANDA has been at the forefront of this movement, advocating for the Food Bill of Rights in its policy report to the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in 2022. The organization also developed an online petition and conducted a Food Democracy Study, presenting findings at Georgetown University's Center for Democracy and Governance. Notably, over 90% of more than 1,000 Americans polled in partnership with Food Tank expressed support for the need for a Food Bill of Rights—a sentiment echoed by prominent voices like Chef Carla Hall and everyday people.

"The federal government is complicit in a food system that segments people along racial and economic lines," said Joshua Lohnes, Research Assistant Professor at West Virginia University and Co-Founder of the National Right to Food Community of Practice. "We face troubling concentrations of power in the agri-business and corporate food sectors that reinforce these inequalities."

Denisse Córdova Montes, Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida and Co-Founder of the National Right to Food Community of Practice, adds, "It is a privilege to accompany advocates at the forefront of advancing the right to food in the U.S. The U.S. must take urgent action toward the domestic implementation of the U.N. recommendations and adopt a rights-based framework that addresses hunger and food system violations."

The proposed National Food and Nutrition Security Council aims to coordinate efforts across more than 50 federal agencies, ensuring that every American has the right to access safe, affordable, and nourishing foods.

This meeting marks a significant opportunity for civil society stakeholders to provide recommendations on how executive agencies can advance food justice and the right to food in the United States.

SOURCE WANDA: Women Advancing Nutrition Dietetics and Agriculture