If you recall, in September of 2022, the White House announced its national, 8-year strategy to end hunger and improve nutrition and health. Read more about NCA’s announcement and involvement in this.
Since then, interested parties have attended monthly meetings where representatives from various governmental departments present on their roles and responsibilities for this strategy. In November, a representative from the USDA Health and Nutrition Services presented on the proposed changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC.
Improved access to fruits and vegetables as well as an expanded list of whole grains are just a few of the proposed changes. The proposed expanded list of whole grains included many that are gluten-free, however, several questions remained regarding improved accessibility to gluten-free foods for people with celiac disease.
NCA was able to clarify the answers to some of these questions in a separate virtual meeting with several representatives from USDA. This individualized meeting was quite valuable as we had the direct attention of these USDA representatives to share stories from the celiac and GF community. Next, NCA plans to submit comments on the proposed changes to include special accommodations for people with celiac disease who benefit from WIC.
As a result of January’s monthly meeting, NCA’s future plans also include advocacy efforts with the representative from the US Department of Treasury who briefly presented on how they want to help individuals with diet-related medical expenses.
Stay tuned for more important updates on NCA’s advocacy work!
