DYK it's national Farm to School Month? Check out some handy resources below! We're also sharing stories from moms speaking out about the importance of federal nutrition programs. As always, please read and share, and have a great week!
DYK? More than 42,000 schools nationwide participate in Farm to School programs. And the results are incredible. Program outcomes include improvement in student eating behaviors, enhanced academic achievement, improved social skills and behavior, increased income for local farmers, increased community awareness about purchasing local foods, and increased parent ability to incorporate healthier foods in family diets. And each dollar invested in farm to school programs stimulates an additional $2.16 in local economic activity. Read more about Farm to School on the blog, and join us for today's #FoodFri Tweetchat at 1pm ET with @USDANutrition and @FarmtoSchool! (Photo credit: USDA)
Our nation and our Congress has some momentous decisions to make in the coming weeks. Will we balance our nation’s budget on the backs of working families, which hurts our economy in the long-run, or will we instead end tax breaks for billionaires? The #StoptheCuts Blog Carnival articulates the value of various federally-funded human needs programs and how they boost moms, women, children, and families. We also voice our concern about budget cuts and the sequester (across-the-board cuts) that would disproportionally affect programs that assist families and the poor. Check it out on the blog!
2. TIPS & RESOURCES
GFF member Erin and MomsRising staffer Karen recently spoke with Tony Geraci, aka Cafeteria Man, about his work in Baltimore and Memphis. Check it out on Youtube!
Join @MomsRising and special guests USDA (@USDANutrition) and the Farm to School Network (@FarmtoSchool) as we discuss Farm to School! We're meeting at 1pm ET on Twitter (use #FoodFri to participate) to explore the amazing benefits of Farm to School programs, as well as how schools can get involved. Join us: just use the hashtag #FoodFri to participate.
Good Food Force Toolbox: Now Live!
We're compiling our favorite resources for parents and healthy food advocates on our new Good Food Force Toolbox webpage! Come check out toolkits, tip sheets, fun facts and more. This is a great source for information for newsletters and blog posts.
Thank you for all you do!
Be sure to sign up for the Good Food Force to get these updates delivered straight to your inbox!
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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