Nutrition Security

Background

The United States faces an obesity epidemic that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those with obesity are at triple the risk of hospitalization and are at a higher risk of death. Outside the threat of COVID, diet-related diseases including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer kill nearly 700,000 individuals a year and cost the domestic healthcare system approximately $50 billion annually.

Key Facts

9 out of 10 Americans do not meet the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans fruit and vegetable consumption recommendations
74% of adults in America are overweight or obese

Talking Points

While there are multiple policy levers required to reverse our obesity epidemic and solve nutrition insecurity, there are two timely policy areas in which Congress and the Administration can make important progress: driving fruit and vegetable consumption through the upcoming White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Hunger with a “Fruit and Vegetable Moonshot” and reforming the USDA procurement system to increase fresh fruit and vegetable access to those in need.

Addressing Nutrition Security Through Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Access