Health Department Invites Proposals for Campaign Against Processed Foods

The Health and Human Services agency wants to produce a “bold, edgy” national campaign that educates the public on ultra-processed foods and diabetes risk.

By Lisa Held

June 17, 2025

June 17, 2025 – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will launch a national campaign to serve as “a wake-up call to Americans” about the dangers of eating processed foods. The campaign, which will educate the public on how those foods contribute to diabetes and other chronic diseases, fits squarely into Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda.

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According to a request for proposals posted last week, the campaign will be the first in a series launched by the agency, with others touching on physical fitness and “spiritual growth.” Research shows diets higher in ultra-processed foods are linked to higher risk of diabetes and other chronic diseases, and that connection will be the focus of the first campaign. More than 36 million Americans—about 11 percent of the population—have type 2 diabetes, and rates among children and teens have been rising.

“The campaign’s creative content will turn heads, create viral moments on social media, and—above all else—inspire Americans to take back their health through eating real food,” the request reads. Contractors have until June 26 to submit their proposals for consideration. The request does not include what the winning contract would earn, but NBC News reported the campaign is expected to cost upwards of $20 million.

In 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama launched a national campaign called Let’s Move, which emphasized healthy eating and physical activity as a solution to combat rising rates of childhood obesity and chronic disease.

In May, Kennedy said the health harms caused by processed foods would become a “central focus” of the agencies under his purview, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The MAHA Commission Report, which was found to cite nonexistent research studies and misrepresent the results of others, also put ultra-processed foods front and center.

The request is likely to draw criticism for its emphasis on “how Americans can take personal responsibility for their health” at a time when the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are attempting to cut funds for healthcare and food assistance for low-income Americans. The administration has also slashed funds for research and bringing whole, healthy foods from local farms into schools and food banks. In April, the country’s leading ultra-processed foods researcher left NIH after he said HHS wanted him to tweak messaging to fit Kennedy’s preconceived narrative on processed foods.

The request for proposals also tells contractors the campaign should “popularize technology like wearables as cool, modern tools for measuring diet impact and taking control of your own health.” That directive is likely to draw scrutiny, given MAHA star Casey Means, Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, is the co-founder of Levels Health, a company that sells wearable glucose monitors (along with an associated subscription). (Link to this post.)

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Lisa Held is Civil Eats’ senior staff reporter and contributing editor. Read more >