Advocating for School Meals in Washington D.C.

On April 29th and 30th American Heart Association advocates from Washington, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York and Maine flew into Washington D.C. to take part in a Hill Day in support of child nutrition policies. These advocates were parents with children who eat meals at school, people who work in schools, nutrition experts, people who experienced food insecurity as a child and medical professionals. Some of the advocates taking part have been meeting with lawmakers on these issues for decades, and some advocates were making their first ever visit to DC.

We met with more than 30 congressional offices and had very great conversations with elected officials and their staff. Maine advocate Mindy Beyer, a RN, CVD survivor, and mother of a teenager who eats meals at school, said in a message to our grassroots network this week,

“More than 45 million students take part in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program. My son is one of those millions of students. Knowing that he receives healthy meals at school gives me peace of mind and reinforces the importance of ensuring all children have the same opportunity.”

You can join these advocates and let your elected officials know that children’s nutrition is critically important by clicking this link.