U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal
U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, attended the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health Wednesday.
“It was my privilege today to join food and nutrition experts and stakeholders from around the country today for the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in over 50 years, and I’m grateful to the Central Coast advocates who had shared their own viewpoints with me so that I could properly represent the goals and challenges that our region faces when it comes to these critical issues,” Rep. Carbajal said in a statement.
“Ending food insecurity and ensuring no American goes hungry is critical to all other goals we have, and this White House Conference was a great forum for our experts and advocates to help develop a comprehensive strategy that makes sure we’re supporting every single American who is facing food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition,” he said. “I appreciate President Biden for his leadership in hosting this conference and his continued commitment to tackling these pervasive issues in our country.”
The hunger conference, which Rep. Carbajal repeatedly pushed the White House to convene before their announcement in May, is only the second such event in U.S. history. The first was held more than 50 years ago.
In July, the News-Press reported on a virtual listening session held by Rep. Carbajal with local nutrition policy experts from Santa Barbara County, CommUnify, Cal Poly SLO, UCSB and the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County to hear their concerns and suggestions ahead of Wednesday’s conference.
Their testimony was submitted by Carbajal this summer and is part of the official record of Wednesday’s conference.
Last year, Rep. Carbajal hosted a Hunger Tour across the Central Coast to highlight the pervasive food and nutrition needs of local communities and the impact of food insecurity on young Californians.
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
