The Biden administration has announced a $1.7 billion package to fund initiatives aimed at ending hunger across the United States by 2030, the White House announced on Tuesday morning.
The commitment will go towards funding 141 projects across the nation. The full details of the package are expected to be announced by Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, at an event at the White House later on Tuesday.
As of 2022, around 17 million households experienced food insecurity nationwide, and more than 44 million people across the U.S. faced hunger, including one in five children, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The funding builds on the $8 billion already committed to fighting hunger in September 2022.
It will provide for a public awareness campaign by the Harlem Globetrotters in partnership with charity KABOOM!, which will also build at least 30 playgrounds over the next three years in communities with less access to play areas. The National Collegiate Athletic Association will also renovate 15 courts by 2030.
It will also give $3.5 million to Chicago-based charity Bigger Table to deliver 10 million nutritional meals to food banks in the Midwest by 2030 and give backing to a non-profit that recovers millions of pounds of fruit and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste.
Some private companies, non-profit organizations and local governments have also made pledges as part of the plan. Among those are a $60 million commitment by tech company About Fresh to develop data for food prescription research and a pledge by Caring For Others, which aids those in poverty, to provide 9 million pounds of fresh fruit, vegetables and protein to families in need.
Food delivery company DoorDash has agreed to partner with local grocers to increase the number of choices available at its supermarkets, while Uber will embed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) eligibility information into its Uber Eats app and pilot a program to transport excess food to food banks in the mid-Atlantic.
Non-profit Food For Free has pledged to distribute 90,000 meals and 250,000 pounds of healthy food across eastern Massachusetts, while start-up Dinnertime has committed to providing artificial intelligence-powered meal planning and money-saving tools free to families enrolled on Medicaid.
The commitments also include action plans to combat hunger by local authorities, including those in Cleveland, Ohio, and Dearborn, Michigan.
The latest pledges follow Emhoff's announcement ahead of the Super Bowl weekend that the White House would partner with the NFL, the NBA and 12 other major leagues and associations to promote healthy lifestyles and nutrition education.
Some of the White House-led initiatives have previously faced local resistance, though. In January, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt opted not to accept funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in the original package that would have allowed impoverished families to use a pre-paid card to buy up to $40 of groceries a month.
Update 2/27/24, 9:19 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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