The U.S. House Committee on Rules has renewed a focus over the last few months on ending hunger in America and this week invited Socially Determined CEO and Co-founder, Trenor Williams, to testify as part of a series of committee hearings on this important topic. The seventh hearing on ending hunger in America focused on “food as medicine,” and during his opening statement (which starts at about 20:28 in the video below), Trenor focuses on the myths and misconceptions around data that exists to help end food insecurity.
The first misconception Trenor highlights is that there is not enough data to fully understand food insecurity. While it’s true that there is no single source of data, there is plenty of open-source data, business data and personal data from a myriad of sources that, when used together, create the Social Risk IntelligenceÔ needed to take meaningful action. This intelligence also plays a large role in disproving other misconceptions including beliefs that food insecurity is an isolated problem, that the causes of food insecurity are the same for everyone, and that food insecurity is not a healthcare problem. With the right data, used and analyzed in the right ways, we see that these beliefs are patently not true.
This hearing is part of the House Rules Committee’s efforts to highlight the reality of food insecurity in America and examine the steps Congress and the Biden administration can take to equitably combat it. Committee chair, Congressman Jim McGovern, has called for a policy-focused White House hunger conference to create the roadmap to end hunger by 2030, which the United Nations has called for. As Congressman McGovern said at the outset of this effort, “COVID-19 has worsened the hunger crisis, but it didn’t cause it. And unless we act and act boldly, this epidemic in food insecurity will persist long after the coronavirus has passed.”