Tell President Biden: Support a Food Bill of Rights.  

If the right to bear arms drives our gun policies and national security, what rights drive our food and nutrition security in America?

September 28th in Washington, D.C., marks the 2nd-ever White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health since the Nixon Administration that ushered in our food system to discuss a national strategy to address food and nutrition security in America.

Now is a critical time to adopt a Food Bill of Rights—to ensure our food policies are aligned with our values. So join us in urging President Biden and our local communities from policymakers, faith, business, and community leaders to support a Food Bill of Rights, which declares a core set of freedoms and rights of citizens serving as a preamble to future food and nutrition policies in this country.

What do citizens have to say?

• "I think a Food Bill of Rights is just like the human bill of rights. It's a necessity! I think that if we can recite our Food Bill of Rights, then we can stand up for what we're supposed to have." - A Grandmother from Washington, DC
  
  
• "I think having a Food Bill of Rights is essential. Nutrition impacts us on so many levels. And even if we think about the maternal health level, a lot of it's impacting not only the fetus, but if that mother is carrying a girl, and it is impacting the ovaries of that fetus. So that's three generations right there that need adequate access.” - A mom from Maryland
  

Sign the petition and share it with your community to get the Food Bill of Rights in front of the Administration. No matter who you are, your voice can make a difference!

--------------------------------------

Why do I care?

Hello, I am Tambra Raye Stevenson, born in Oklahoma City, OK, raised in Dallas, TX, and a resident of Washington, DC.

I am a mom and public health nutritionist who educates our communities about nutrition and advocates for food and nutrition policy change.  In the policymaking process, I wonder what core set of values drives our overall decision-making when it comes to our food, health, and environment.

I lost my grandparents in Oklahoma from diabetes, stroke, and heart disease due to diet and our food culture predicated by the policies set in our cities, states, and country. So I take this issue personally. I realized that diabetes is not my heritage, but it’s the American lifestyle that's killing us. In America, heart disease is the #1 killer compared to gun violence (which is #9 by CDC). 

I believe a Food Bill of Rights will be a unifier because it recognizes that food is connected to our health, economy, and environment; that food should be safe, affordable, and nourishing; that food can create livelihoods in alignment with the planet; that food is an expression of reclaiming culture and dignity. 

As a former Boren National Security Education Scholar coming from the Heartland, I believe food is our democratic birthright, and it also represents our power and freedom. The freedom to grow food that heals us and the planet and participate in a food democracy should be fundamental values.

Over time, I realized that to shift the [food and health] system, we have to redefine the values that guide the policy changes that impact our communities. That’s why a Food Bill of Rights must be a top priority!

Food is not only a fundamental right to all, but we must have the right to participate in the food economy and policymaking. But currently, every city across the country doesn’t have a fair democratic process to participate in local food economies but instead is locked out.

I founded WANDA: Women Advancing Nutrition Dietetics and Agriculture and started Sisterhood Suppers to bring awareness to women making food purchasing decisions and preparing meals about the fact that we, as food citizens, should have a seat at the table of food democracy.

Your support for a Food Bill of Rights signals to this country that we align our fork with our values. That’s why WANDA submitted the Food Bill of Rights in a policy report of recommendations to the conveners of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health this summer.

Why should we care?

Remember hungry Americans waiting in long lines at the food banks across this country? The pandemic revealed the pervasive food and nutrition insecurity that many of us were grappling with. It’s up to us to shape the fragmented, unsustainable food system that we inherited.  

Our children are paying the price with cavities, poor academic performance, and diabetes. A scathing TIME Magazine feature stated this generation would die before us. No child should be left hungry. No child should not know where their food comes from either. So I ask, what are our values about food?

The ground-breaking Surgeon General's report published in 1989 brought national attention to the need to integrate nutrition and health. The report called upon leadership from the local to national levels to commit to creating an environment and culture that promotes healthier food choices for all. Fast forward to now, we are in dire straits with increased food costs, hunger, and unhealthier choices.

The recent USDA Economic Report on food security revealed troubling stats:

• 24.3% of single-parent households headed by women experienced food insecurity.
• Southern region states experienced food insecurity at a much higher rate than any other U.S. region. Nearly 11.4 percent of households experienced food insecurity in 2021.
• Black (19.8%) and Latinx (16.2%) households were disproportionately impacted by food insecurity in 2021, with food insecurity rates triple and double the rate of White households (7.0%), respectively.

Now is the time to shift that power to we, the people, to proclaim the creation of a Food bill of rights, a set of core values that guide the policies that heal us, not kill us.

As fellow food citizens, I call upon you and our representatives to support a Food Bill of Rights to determine the future of our food, health, and culture. Together, let's amplify our voices to the White House and show solidarity. Remember, there is a seat for all of us! We need “food freedom for all.”

Will you sign the petition to let the President know too? 

Want to help some more? Please complete the National Survey on the State of Food Democracy!  

Find more info and get your profile frame at iamwanda.org/foodbillofrights.

White House Email: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

White House Phone: (202) 456-1111