Dear Friend,

Welcome to this week's Good Food Force update! Please find updates, resources and action ideas below. 

1. The Hot Line: #SaveSchoolLunch and WIC Update

#SaveSchoolLunch: Over the last month we've been discussing the new pushback on school meals. This fight is happening through the appropriations process on Capitol Hill. Some members of Congress want to roll back the gains made to make healthier meals the standard.

Despite the fact that over 90% of schools have already successfully implemented nutrition standards set by the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, a proposed House bill requires USDA to let schools waive out of the nutrition requirements if the school claims to not be able to afford it. The proposed Senate bill differs in how far it goes in granting waivers, but both bills signal a dangerous shift in policy and precedent, allowing big industry lobbyists to override the recommendations of scientists, nutritionists, and health experts.

MomsRising.org and our partners submitted thousands of comments in support of protecting healthy school meals and we need to keep the drumbeat going! Please add your voice. And a big thanks to everyone who helped share this call to action on social media, and in your own communities!

For more, check out our blogs in Huffington Post and Ebony.com.

WIC: The House and Senate Appropriations Committees also proposed an override of guidelines set by nutrition experts for the Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) supplemental nutrition program by mandating that white potatoes be included in the WIC food package. This is a measure that MomsRising.org opposed.

As this bill moves through the process, the fight continues. Read more about the Agriculture Appropriations process in this summary by our policy partners at the Coalition for Human Needs.

2. Morning Stretch: #FoodFri Weekly Tweetchat: More Healthy Free Lunch!

Starting next school year (2014-2015), the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) will be available to over 15,000 high poverty schools nationwide. This is monumental and we want to make sure that eligible schools have the opportunity to enroll. States published lists of eligible and near-eligible schools for community eligibility on May 1st. By June 30, school districts must decide if they want to implement CEP in some or all of their schools.

Join #FoodFri with @MomsRising and @FRACtweets to discuss the basics of CEP and the steps you can take to make sure schools utilize this amazing opportunity!

DATE: Friday June 6, 2014
TIME: 1- 2 PM ET 
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #FoodFri
WHO: @MomsRising, @FRACtweets,@CenteronBudget, and YOU!

Please share and promote! Sample tweet: Live near a high poverty school? Join #FoodFri to learn how you can help kids get FREE school meals! Info:http://www.momsrising.org/blog/foodfri-tweetchat-community-eligibilty-for-free-school-breakfast-and-lunch

3. Salad Bar: Top 10 Throw-in-your-Bag Snacks

Summertime is all about getting out and having fun. Those days on the beach, at the pool, at the park, on road trips etc. offer lots of fun - but also lots of (unhealthy) food! Summer should leave us and our kids with memories, not extra pounds.

Below are a few tips to help you plan ahead when you can, have back-up when you can't, and teach your kids that eating healthy can be fun.

• Baby carrots
• Sliced peppers
• Grape or cherry tomatoes
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Cut melon
• Unsweetened apple juice
• Fruit cups in juice or light syrup
• Dried fruit
• Brown rice cakes

Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest

4. Recess: Who's Ready for Summer?

We are! We are! And ... many of the parents in this great Buzzfeed post. No judgement! 

That's it for now everyone! Thank you!!

- 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