The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) was established in 2010 as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization to support and amplify the goals of former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign. While it operates independently, PHA was created to be the long-term, sustainable arm of the Let’s Move! initiative, engaging the private sector and civic organizations in creating lasting change across the food system. With Michelle Obama serving as its honorary chair, the organization has become a powerful catalyst for transforming the food environment in the United States, promoting health equity, and expanding access to nutritious food.
PHA’s mission is rooted in the belief that everyone—regardless of income or zip code—deserves access to healthy, affordable food. To that end, the organization focuses on reshaping the marketplace, creating healthier community environments, and showcasing scalable, evidence-based solutions to improve public health. From its inception, PHA has worked closely with a wide array of partners, including food manufacturers, retailers, convenience store chains, early childhood educators, housing developers, colleges and universities, and food banks.
One of PHA’s most notable areas of achievement is its partnership with the private sector to reformulate products and improve the nutritional landscape. Through its collaborations with major food companies, PHA has helped remove an estimated 6 trillion calories from the food supply. It has also worked with over 1,800 convenience stores across 29 states to expand the availability of healthy foods in communities that are often underserved by traditional grocery stores.
PHA’s public campaigns have also had national reach and measurable impact. The “Drink Up” campaign, launched in 2013 to encourage water consumption, helped water become the most consumed beverage in the U.S. by 2016. In 2015, the organization introduced FNV (Fruits ‘N Veggies), a celebrity-backed marketing campaign designed to make fruits and vegetables more appealing—especially to younger audiences. The campaign successfully influenced consumer attitudes and behavior, leading to increased purchases of produce.
A major focus for PHA has also been ensuring that children are introduced to healthy food early in life, which is why it launched the “Veggies Early & Often” initiative. This program partners with childcare providers, early education systems, and baby food companies to prioritize vegetables during the most formative stages of taste development. To date, more than 16,000 professionals have received training through this initiative, and several companies have committed to producing “veggie-first” baby and toddler foods.
In the area of hunger relief and food insecurity, PHA’s Healthy Hunger Relief initiative has made a significant impact on the charitable food system. Working with more than 60 food banks, the program has reached between 15 and 21 million people, facilitating the distribution of over 122 million pounds of nutritious food while helping food banks remove 19 million pounds of junk food from circulation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, PHA launched the COVID-19 Fresh Food Fund, which provided millions of servings of fresh produce to families in need. This work evolved into the Good Food for All initiative, which aims to distribute 100 million additional servings of fruits and vegetables by 2025.
PHA’s influence has extended into campuses and community environments as well. Its Healthier Campus Initiative engaged 77 institutions and reached 1.7 million students by setting nutrition and wellness standards across college campuses. Additionally, through partnerships with housing developers and urban planners, PHA has promoted active design principles and increased healthy food access in affordable housing developments.
As of recent years, the organization has expanded its scope through its Good Food Cities model, which aims to double produce consumption in 15 U.S. cities by 2030, with a strong emphasis on health equity and community-driven solutions. Through this model and other local partnerships, PHA continues to innovate in the areas of food access, retail transformation, and behavior change.
In summary, the Partnership for a Healthier America has played a vital role in building a healthier, more equitable food system in the United States. By aligning business incentives with public health goals, leveraging celebrity and media influence, and working directly with communities, PHA has achieved measurable success in reducing caloric overconsumption, increasing fruit and vegetable intake, and reshaping food environments. As it moves forward with ambitious goals for 2030, PHA continues to stand as a leading force for systemic change in the fight against diet-related disease and food inequity.
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