VA-USDA Food Security and Nutrition Summit

I had been looking forward to this competition for weeks—including practicing on how to cut onions at an angle not even seen on Top Chef! If I were there in person, I would be taking my victory lap right about now!

So I want to thank the stand-in chef, Press Secretary Terrence Hayes, for representing Vets and me and for showing my dear friend, Tom [Vilsack, Secretary, USDA], how we do things here at VA.

Tom, you put on a great show—dazzling the crowd and the judges with produce from USDA’s very own “People’s Garden” but Terrence tapped into his military training to woo the judges—precision, attention to detail, and striving for excellence is what Soldiers do—and that should be enough to secure the victory!  

Now the success of today’s event is really a testament to the true culinary artists behind these exceptional dishes: Executive Chef and Navy Vet Kissy Perez who creates delicious and nutritious meals at the VA Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina and Marine Combat Vet Albert Larotonda who prepares wholesome meals at the Medical Center in Asheville, North Carolina.

Albert and Kissy: Thank you for elevating the competition and thank you for serving delicious foods filled with ingredients of healing and hope to Vets in our care. 

Food has the extraordinary ability to bring people together, and nowhere is this more evident than among our Vets. The shared experience of service and sacrifice creates a unique bond.

When Vets share a meal together—whether in the field over MREs or in the chow hall or at a local pub–in those moments, food connects them to camaraderie, to a bond, to support, and with those who care. 

I grew up in a family with 11 brothers and sisters—we were actually a mini-Army—and nothing had the power to bring us together like food. 

Sharing meals connected us—to place and time and to each other. 

But here’s the problem.

Not all Vets have access to food.

Millions of Vets face food insecurity.

In the richest country in the world, where brave men and women put their lives on the line to fight our nation’s wars, they should not have to return home and fight different wars—against hunger, against homelessness, against stigmas.

That’s unacceptable.

And because it’s unacceptable, it requires that we fight like hell to change those conditions. Ultimately, it comes down to fighting like hell to honor our commitment to Veterans. 

It’s what President Biden calls our most sacred obligation—to prepare and equip the troops we send into harm’s way, and then to care for them and their families when they return home.

It’s the promise that our country makes to everyone who signs up to serve in the military, and it’s as simple as it is fundamental.

If you fight for us, we’ll fight for you.

If you serve us, we’ll serve you.

Our country, as a whole, makes that promise. And it’s our job at VA to keep that promise to Vets.

Vets like Don, who served honorably in the Navy during Vietnam, but fell on hard times after retiring in 2013 and moving to New York to help his daughter. Not long after that move, Don found himself broke, hungry, homeless, and in need of medical care.

That’s when his daughter, who’s also a Vet, convinced him to go to VA.  Once Don was in our care, we took care of his medical needs and connected him with an organization that set him up with permanent, subsidized housing. That offered him a lifeline out of homelessness—and offered him a chance to rebuild his life.

Today, Don still lives in subsidized housing; he grows his own vegetables; and he shares the fresh food he receives from a mobile food pantry with other Vets in his housing unit.

Why does he do that? Because he knows they need what VA gave him—access to food, a home, and a chance to improve his quality of life.

Veterans helping Veterans, and there’s nothing better than that.

Now here’s why I’m sharing Don’s story. First, we’ve got to make access to resources simple and easy. And the second reason is we’ve got to see hunger as the health crisis that it is for Vets.

That’s why I established the Food Security Office—led by Dr. Christine Going—to address these challenges impacting Vets and their families. Establishing this office demonstrates a commitment to honoring that promise. We have a responsibility in making sure that those who sacrificed for their country do not go hungry.

That’s why I’m extremely proud of the fact that VA is the only health care system that has an office dedicated to fighting food insecurity—for those Vets who’ve taken care of us. Its built on three pillars—partnerships, data management, and research education because here’s what we’ve learned from the power of partnerships and work together.

 Partnerships allow us to do what we cannot do alone. There has to be a collaborative effort between VA with other government agencies—like USDA—and with non-profits, private agencies, businesses, and community organizations.  We’ve got to look for creative ways for us to engage with each other—like this food competition—in order to address the crisis. The reality is that in order for us to reduce hunger amongst Vets, we’ve got to share practices, resources, and expertise to maximize our efforts.

Partnerships demonstrate that food insecurity is not a solitary mission but rather a shared responsibility.

And that’s why we’re all here today. Now, Tom, you’ve been in this fight for a long time—long before you were Secretary of Agriculture—and even before you were Governor of Iowa.

And VA has also been in the fight a long time, and that makes our partnership even more important because together, we can expand our reach and amplify our impact. The MOU signed earlier today formalizes this commitment.

And I’m thrilled that so many of VA field leaders are here to learn what they can do to fight against food insecurity. Thank you for your dedication to this mission.

Through these collaborations, we will build a stronger safety net—ensuring that no Vet faces hunger or food insecurity alone.

So, as we move forward, let us commit to doing the hard work  of tackling these challenges before us, together.

Thank you and God bless you all.