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Take Action!
Child Nutrition Act Added to 2007 Farm Bill
The Natural Products Association has been a strong supporter of S. 771, the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act. Introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), this act would update out-of-date nutritional standards in U.S. schools, and re-define "food of minimal nutritional value." The definition was last updated in 1979. Since then, Americans' food options and knowledge about nutrition has changed dramatically. It's time that change was reflected in the definition.
Recently, Senator Harkin and Senator Murkowski (R-Alaska) worked together to add an amendment similar in language to S.771 to the 2007 Farm Bill under a series of provisions aimed at improving nutrition in the United States. Unfortunately, the Farm Bill is currently stalled in the Senate under the threat of filibuster. While Senators Harkin and Murkowski are doing everything they can to get this legislation off the ground, they need the support of their fellow senators to get this important amendment back on track.
If a senator has already sponsored S. 771, that is an indication that they would be supportive of the amendment in the Farm Bill. If they are not sponsors, that is all the more reason to ask for their support for this important amendment.
With this in mind, the association is asking all its members to contact their senators about this bill and the amendment. Please enter your zip code in the box below. We'll find your senators and indicate whether or not they have signed on as a co-sponsor of this bill and give you an appropriate sample letter to send depending on whether your senator is a sponsor or not. (If you only see one letter, that means both of your senators have the same position on the bill. Hitting send will send a letter to both).
If your senators have not signed on, we'll provide you with a sample message to send your senators asking for their support of the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act, S. 771 and the related Farm Bill amendment.
If they are supporters, we will provide a sample letter for you to send to your senators thanking them for their support for S. 771 and asking for their support of this bill as an amendment. Thank-you letters are some of the most effective ways to show our legislators that their efforts make a difference to those who care about the nutrition of our school children. |
