HHS invests $7.5 million with Hatch for Hunger to expand protein access

HHS paired a $7.5 million investment with HATCH for Hunger to push more protein into the charitable food system, framing the move as both a nutrition policy and a food-waste fix. The department said the money would support a national effort to redirect surplus protein to families in need, improve health outcomes and ease the burden of chronic disease.

The announcement, made May 19, came alongside a separate USDA plan to fund a competitive grant program of up to $7.5 million to strengthen cold-chain infrastructure for emergency food assistance operations, including faith-based partners serving communities in need. Together, the agencies cast the effort as part of President Trump’s Make America Healthy Again agenda and said it lined up with the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which emphasize protein-rich foods such as meats, eggs and dairy.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said access to real, nutritious food is the foundation of good health and said the investment would help food banks deliver the nutrition families need to prevent chronic disease and live healthier lives. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said the updated dietary guidelines encourage Americans to “Eat Real Food” and said expanding cold storage and distribution capacity would help ensure fresh, high-quality food reaches Americans in need.

HATCH for Hunger’s pitch is built around logistics as much as philanthropy. Jeff Simmons, the board chairman, said charitable food networks face an estimated 800-million-pound protein gap every year, a shortfall driven largely by infrastructure and distribution problems. HATCH says it operates a national cold-chain network, works with more than 120 partners across 36-plus states and delivers 102 million meals annually, at a cost of $0.01 per meal. The organization is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit and says its model is designed to move surplus and underutilized protein from producers to hunger-relief groups.

That operating model gives the federal partnership a sharper edge than a one-off grant. HATCH’s 2024 annual report said it mobilized 50,000 dozen eggs for disaster relief that year, equal to 300,000 meals of animal protein. The group also says it is part of Tony Robbins’ Billion Meal Movement and has set a goal of delivering 1 billion meals by 2034. Robbins and Feeding America launched The Next Billion Meals Challenge on April 21, 2025, with a lead gift for a campaign that runs through December 2026.

The broader question is whether this becomes a durable blueprint for public nutrition programs: not just more calories, but more real food protein, moved fast enough and cold enough to reach families before it is wasted.