Welcome to the August 28, 2014 edition of the Good Food Force update! This week's update covers all things #BacktoSchool! Please read, enjoy and share!
1. THE HOT LINE
#Backtoschool #Protips
If you're like us, you're a little bit happy and a little bit sad to see the kids head back to school. Summer goes so fast! They're getting so big! But I can finally conquer that project / hear myself think / hit the gym / etc.! We get it.
Every supermom has tricks for making the transition back a smooth one. Here are some of our favorites, gathered during last year's #FoodFri #BacktoSchool tweetchat. Please share your #backtoschool #protips with us by email or online, and we'll feature them in a future update!
- Our days are long. Take snacks with you when you go to appointments or run errands.
- Before you go shopping, tell kids what, if any, snack they can expect.
- Don’t let kids eat snack foods directly out of the bag or box to control portion size.
- Check out these BPA, PVC, Phthalate-free options for lunch gear: http://ow.ly/ojZbO
- The Everything #Green Classroom Book has tons of tips and ideas: http://ow.ly/okpjX
- Ask for your school’s policy on candy/food as reward. If there isn’t one, suggest creating it. More ideas here: http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/constructive_classroom_rewards.pdf
- Likewise, ask what the school's policy is around fundraisers. Suggest some of these great ideas for keeping fundraisers healthy: http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/Fundraising_Ideas_Fact_Sheet.pdf
- 21 Awesome & Easy Slow-Cooker Meals for School Nights: http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/7-kid-favorite-slow-cooker-dinners-for-school-nights/
- Serve kids more fruits, veggies & whole grains at home so they're familiar with them at school.
- Drinks made from water with a splash of cranberry, grape or other fruit juice are healthier than soda!
Good Food Force Volunteers needed for a special mission!
We're looking for 20 volunteers able to donate a little time to support a fun, online back-to-school challenge we're launching next week. Can you help? We're being a little secretive, but we promise it won't take a lot of time, it's easy and it's fun! PLUS, volunteers will receive MomsRising.org swag featuring an amazing piece of artwork by the inspiring Favianna Rodriguez. You in? Email karen@momsrising.org for more info! (And watch for an announcement of the challenge next week!)
2. MORNING STRETCH
Join the next #FoodFri Tweetchat: #Backtoschool Healthy Recipe Share!
Join us this Friday at 1pm ET to share healthy recipes and snacks for #Backtoschool! We're sharing everything from energizing breakfast options, to quick dinners, to yummy and filling lunches. Come pick up a few new ideas, and share your own #recipesforsuccess! Just follow @MomsRising and #FoodFri on Twitter to participate.
Google+ Hangout: Back to School: Active Kids, Healthier Food
Please join the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) on September 5 from 12-1pm ET. Panelists will go “back to school” and discuss the importance of improved nutrition and greater physical activity for kids, and the great strides made in schools across the country with the support of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program. Susan Dentzer, senior policy adviser to the Foundation, will lead a discussion on the innovative ways schools and other organizations are addressing childhood obesity through healthier food options and more physical activity for students nationwide. RSVP here.
3. YEARBOOK
Meet #FoodPower14 Awardee Dara Cooper!
We were honored to present the amazing Dara Cooper with a MomsRising.org #FoodPower award at our event in New York City last month. Read more about the event here, and about Dara below!
Dara Cooper is an activist, organizer and currently the director of the NYC Food and Fitness Partnership at Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation. The Partnership works to address food and health access issues in Brooklyn and is focused on a new farmers market featuring regional Black farmers at Restoration, the first community development corporation in the country in addition to a piloted farm to Headstart program rolled out in Brooklyn. She serves on the advisory board of Black Oaks Center for Sustainable Renewable Living, a member of Black Farmers Urban Gardeners (BUGS), a food justice blogger for BKreader.com and is the contributing editor for the Environment, Sustainability and Food Justice section of the Praxis Center, an online activist academic journal at Kalamazoo College. She has worked on or advised healthy food access work all over the country and is deeply committed to strengthening community reclamation of our food system.
Have a great week!
- Karen, Migdalia, Monifa, Donna, Dream and the rest of the MomsRising.org Food Team!
Good Food Force (GFF) Volunteers are real-life superheroes who take action in their schools and communities, and/or on their blogs and online networks, to get the word out about healthy school foods, junk food marketing to kids, and strategies that are working to reduce childhood obesity. Together with MomsRising.org staff, they help advocate for healthier kids and families. Help spread the word! Contact us: karen@momsrising.org
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