After spending three years incarcerated, Sherry knew there would be great challenges – and limitations – to building a life post-prison. She found a job at a donut shop in San Antonio, Tex. alongside her husband, Marty. The owners were great, she said, but her felony conviction restricted her bargaining power. The hours were long, and the pay small. She had no insurance, no benefits.

When MaKenzie Williams was in kindergarten, she made a friend who would change her life. “I quickly became inseparable with a girl in my class, and we did everything together. But I noticed she never ate during lunch and seemed sad,” MaKenzie, specialist in Corporate Communications, said. “After a few days I asked my mom to pack two lunches, and I’m sure she just assumed it was for my after-school program. In reality, I was giving my second lunch to my best friend.”

It was an honor to be invited to participate in the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. The goal is clear: end hunger and increase healthy eating and physical activity among Americans by 2030. Tyson Foods supports the White House’s efforts to bring together diverse perspectives from the public and private sectors to help tackle these issues, which we believe are critical to our country.