WASHINGTON – Today, Denise Forte, interim CEO at The Education Trust, issued the following statement on the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health released by the White House.

“The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health can be a catalyst for action to end student hunger. I am pleased to see many of the recommendations that Ed Trust put forward included in the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.

“Ending hunger is essential to achieving educational equity. Adequate nutrition is linked to improved literacy and math scores, enhanced cognitive function, reduced absenteeism, and long-term positive educational outcomes. Yet many students — especially Black students, Latino students, and students from low-income backgrounds — are still experiencing food insecurity. We are pleased that the national strategy includes a pathway to providing universal free school meals and expanding access to Summer EBT to increase access to healthy food options for the more than 30 million school children who rely on school meals.

“Food insecurity also disproportionately affects college students of color and college students from low-income backgrounds. We are pleased to see recommendations to expand SNAP eligibility that will provide access to food to millions of college students.

“We thank President Biden for his commitment to addressing student hunger and food insecurity. We stand ready to work alongside the administration and Congress to help enact these priorities.”