This week we're talking about National Nutrition Month, the importance of sentencing reform, and some big victories in Mississippi. As always, please read and share. And be sure to join the conversation in the Facebook group and during the #FoodFri tweet chat, too! 

1. TOP STORIES

Join us in asking Congress to reform sentencing and restore families this year! 

1 million women, mostly mothers are behind bars in the United States. Two-thirds of the women in federal prisons are serving time for nonviolent, drug related challenges. They need treatment and counseling, not incarceration.

Our justice system is failing families and in need of some serious reforms. We are living in a time when more than 2.7 million children in the U.S. have an incarcerated parent and approximately 10 million children have experienced parental incarceration at some point in their lives. Harsh sentencing practices have done more harm than good. Strict penalties designed to combat the distribution of illegal drugs have done little to stem the drug trade. Instead the result has been a massive sweeping of low-level non-violent drug offenders into an ever-expanding criminal justice system that directly fractures families.

Tell the Senate to act now! The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act doesn't fix everything, but it is a step in the process of reducing America's alarming incarceration rate.

Celebrate #NationalNutritionMonth

DYK March is #NationalNutritionMonth? This is a great time to share information and inspiration around healthy eating. Check out and share these tweets and graphics, and find more here.  

March is National Nutrition Month! Play games, download tip sheets, view recipe videos and more: http://action.momsrising.org/go/6638?ak_proof=1&t=5&akid=7695.857632.zYcoCY

Not sure how to get involved in National Nutrition Month? Try one of these ideas for families, schools, offices and communities! http://action.momsrising.org/go/6639?ak_proof=1&t=7&akid=7695.857632.zYcoCY

2. TIPS AND RESOURCES

• An Intersectional Lens on Black History Month: A MomsRising Blog Carnival
• Five Ways to Help Latino Children Achieve a Healthy Weight by Kindergarten, by Amelie Ramirez on the blog.  
• The Shocking Truth of Military Families and Hunger, by Abby Leibman on the blog.
• How One NBA All-Star is Helping Teens Drink Water, Not Soda, by Sabrina Adler on the blog. 
• Soda tax debates: A case study of Berkeley vs. Big Soda's social media campaign, new report from BMSG. 
• Food Insecurity among Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylees in the United States, in the latest Food Insecurity and Hunger in the U.S. periodical from the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) and Children’s HealthWatch. 
• Status of Women in the South, new report from IWPR is the first report to provide a comprehensive portrait of the status of women, particularly the status of women of color, in the southern states, grading each state on six different topic areas related to women’s economic, political, health, and social status.
• McDonald’s Black History Month Marketing Scheme Is a Flimsy Distraction from Their Unhealthy Food and Low Wages, by Juliet Sims, Kinnari Shah on Alternet. 
• Make Eating Veggies Fun with VegOut! 30 Ways in 30 Days Challenge. This March expand both your veggie range and have fun with the VegOut mobile app and website, featuring hundreds of recipes, toolkits and more. Today's featured veggie: collard greens! 

3. CONNECT

Join us for this week's #FoodFri tweetchat as we discuss the #VegOut Challenge with the @r4sfoundation! Join to get and share tips on new veggies to try, recipes for making them yummy, and inspiration for getting your family, school and/or workplace involved! 

And next Monday March 7 at 2pm ET we're kicking off National School Breakfast Week with a special tweet chat featuring special guests @USDA_Nutrition and @FRACTweets! Please join us then, too! 

4. COMMUNITY SNAPSHOT:

Victories for Healthy Snacks and Fundraisers in Mississippi Schools

The Mississippi Department of Education voted on Thursday, February 18, 2016 to adopt Smart Snack standards, ensuring all public school students have healthy options beyond what is provided in the School Meal Program. This vote by the Board of Education is a critical step each state is taking to emphasize what is most important for their students to get the best from their school nutrition services. Of greatest significance is getting rid of junk food fundraisers. Almost all Mississippi voters, 97%, say that serving nutritious foods in schools is important to ensure that children are prepared to learn and do their best, while 79% think it is very important. With this support, Mississippi leaders agreed to no longer allow fundraisers selling unhealthy foods – such as doughnuts, pizzas, and candy bars. Many schools have already switched to healthier and non-food fundraisers so most parents will not even notice the change, but this ruling sets the bar for equality across the state. In addition, Mississippi is upping their game to help schools through small training grants – a much needed investment to boost school wellness councils that support healthy school changes. Read more on the Voices for Healthy Kids website.

Have a great week!  

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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