ARLINGTON, Va. — FMI – The Food Industry Association and The Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University recently hosted a gathering of food and nutrition sector leaders to forge solutions and spur collective action to support the historic White House National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, which aims to end hunger, improve nutrition and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030.

The Food Industry Collective: Commitments in Action meeting, held in Washington, D.C., featured panel discussions with key U.S. food and nutrition sector leaders, hunger and nutrition advocates, health care professionals, and scientists on the ways industry can help achieve these goals.

“Gathering around the table with so many food and nutrition partners is a testament to our shared vision of providing all Americans with equitable access to healthy food to lower the likelihood of diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity and hypertension,” said Leslie Sarasin, president and chief executive officer of FMI and co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Food and Nutrition Security Task Force. “Working together, we are committed to bringing leaders from across the food industry, government and communities together to accomplish these goals.”

Experts presented existing food sector commitments and opportunities and challenges for additional innovative solutions and actions that could be scaled for greater impact. This included consideration of new multisector collaborations and achievable outcomes via panel and small group discussions, strategies to formalize commitments, and ways to work with the Biden administration and Congress on the national goals in 2023 and beyond.

In partnership with Sarasin, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, provided opening remarks and presented on a panel around the role of investors in driving positive change. Mozaffarian also serves as a co-chair of the Task Force on Hunger, Nutrition and Health — a nongovernment, nonpartisan group of subject matter experts and multisector leaders that has worked to help inform the National Strategy. Mozaffarian emphasized the potential for this historic moment in time to inspire and energize diverse stakeholders in the food sector — farmers, manufacturers, retailers, restaurants, investors and wellness companies — to up their game to help advance the directives laid out in the National Strategy.