The Junior League of Jacksonville will convene its members, community partners, and others invested in the fight against hunger to provide feedback to the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health taking place in September.

WHO: The Junior League of Jacksonville is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.

WHEN: Saturday, June 25 at 10:00 a.m. EST

WHERE: Zoom Information
Meeting ID: 865 5750 5882
Passcode: JL-SPAC
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86557505882?pwd=V1hoZHc1U1NsQk9ib1FVcGwvQXlOQT09

Using a toolkit provided by the White House, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Junior League members will lead a local conversation with the same guiding questions as those used in national listening sessions taking place this month, but with a local focus that reflects Northeast Florida’s specific challenges battling hunger. Feedback will then be organized and submitted back to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services so it can be included in the Conference report.

“We are excited to ensure our members and community partners have a seat at the table for this historic White House Conference, and to advocate for solutions that will reduce hunger in our community,” said Danielle Bush Stacy, president of the Junior League of Jacksonville. “The national listening session we participated in was so eye-opening, connecting us with new prospects for grant funding, resources for nutrition education, and best practices to organize those of us in Northeast Florida with a shared mission to fight hunger and improve food security.”

The issue of hunger and nutrition is the strategic focus of the Junior League of Jacksonville’s volunteer and advocacy efforts, with community partnerships at White Harvest Farms, Sanctuary on 8th Street, and Sulzbacher Center. According to the UNF Center for Nutrition and Food Security, one in five Jacksonville residents experiences food insecurity, and nearly a quarter of all census tracts in the city are located in a food desert.

More than 50 years have passed since the Nixon administration held the first and only White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health in 1969. That pivotal event influenced the country’s food policy agenda for the next 50 years, with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) among the landmark nutrition and food assistance programs and recommendations implemented or improved as a result of the 1969 Conference.

The Conference specifically requests that local hosts prioritize including “as many people as possible with lived experience of hunger and/or diet-related diseases” in the conversation, and we welcome anyone who feels they meet those criteria to participate in this event. If they are unable to participate in the scheduled session, they are also encouraged to provide their feedback to the Conference on the website.