Rep. Leger Fernández Calls on President Biden to Convene a National White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, Hunger, and Health
Washington, DC,
February 22, 2022
WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Leger Fernández joined the Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva and Rules Committee Chairman James P. McGovern in calling on President Biden to Convene a National White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, Hunger, and Health.
Today, Congresswoman Leger Fernández joined the Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva and Rules Committee Chairman James P. McGovern in calling on President Biden to Convene a National White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, Hunger, and Health. The conference would bring together food banks, hospitals, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, educators, farmers and ranchers, people with lived experiences, and more to initiate a whole-of-government plan for ending hunger and reducing nutrition insecurity. The members held a roundtable entitled Ending Hunger in America: Examining Indigenous Nutrition and Food Systems to discuss ways for the community to access resources to have a healthy diet and protect them from nutrition-related diseases and provide consistent meals. “I’ve heard often that there is no word for hunger or poverty in Keres or other indigenous languages, because no one would be left hungry or without what they need to survive,” said Leger Fernández. “But now, Native Americans have some of the highest rates of food insecurity, and highest rates of diabetes. We need to provide our Tribal communities the necessary resources for a New Mexico traditional meal and to have food on their tables.” ### |