Moms and kids set up this produce stand outside of the NC General Assembly to hand out fresh NC produce and talk about the need to expand access to healthy foods to all families in the state.
Last week, I had the pleasure of joining with other MomsRising members in North Carolina at the NC Legislature in an effort to educate lawmakers and their staff about issues related to access to healthy foods for families across the state.
We set up a small kid-run produce stand outside of the legislature and offered fresh NC produce for free. While passersby filled a small sack with fresh blueberries, peaches, tomatoes, and potatoes, we talked about the importance of making sure that all families in our state have access to fresh, healthy foods.
We also delivered a small sack of produce, our petition, and a fact sheet to all 170 state lawmakers. We were welcomed by a number of lawmakers into their offices to talk about why we were there and our concerns about access to healthy foods for all families in North Carolina.
There are more than 1.5 million people in NC who live in a food desert, which means they cannot easily access healthy, affordable foods (like the ones we made available at the legislature), and one in four children in NC are food insecure. Parents want to make healthy choices for their families, especially when it comes to food, but food deserts severly limit their access to the foods. This can lead to a myriad of health problems in both kids and adults, including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. In fact, obesity-related health problems cost North Carolinians $54 billion each year.
We can, and must, do something to fix this, for the health of our children, our families, and our economy! We need lawmakers to help make sure every family has access to healthy options, so they can make healthy choices. If you live in NC and want to make your voice heard on this issue, call your lawmakers today. Find out who represents you here:
http://www.ncleg.net/representation/WhoRepresentsMe.aspx
Check out more photos from the day on our Facebook page!
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