I attended the Good Food Force National Meeting this past weekend in Washington, DC. Hosted and sponsored by MomsRising.org, the event was focused on bringing together volunteer food advocates who wanted to learn more about junk food marketing to kids, healthy school foods and overall strategies regarding how to work in our respective communities to reduce childhood obesity. My main reason for attending was to walk away with a plan regarding how to host fun, healthy(ish) food training events for moms in high needs communities since that will be my community service focus for 2015. I learned so much from the various panelists and workshops that I attended. That’s why I wanted to share the highlights with you…
Healthy School Foods/Cafeteria Man
We watched a screening of Cafeteria Man, a documentary about chef Tony Geraci who positively changed school food in Baltimore, after dinner on Friday night. After watching the film, we had a Q&A session with the director of the documentary film, Richard Chisolm. It was interesting to note that Mr. Chisolm was initially cynical and thought that Tony would fail in his efforts to change the quality of the school lunches in the Baltimore area. As a parent, it was inspiring to see how Tony was able to get the school kids excited about school gardens, making healthier version of the kids’ favorite recipes and getting the parents involved in the process. In any event, the movie definitely emphasized the point that access to healthy school foods is so important in the fight against childhood obesity.
After viewing the film, the question that I walked away with was “How can I imitate chef Tony Geraci’s visionary spirit and work in order to make social change in the areas that are important to me?”
Junk Food Marketing to Kids
This was the most impacting panel for me. When it comes to life outcomes, I definitely lean more towards the “personal responsibility” camp. When it comes to food choices, I believe that it is primarily the family’s responsibility to make good choices. That is why I tend to be a fan of educating people about the benefits of healthy eating rather than legislating it. However, I did become indignant as I learned about how sugary drink, junk food and fast-food companies deliberately target their marketing efforts to low-income communities and children of color. While environment isn’t everything, it does have an impact on choices. That is why this type of target marketing is so problematic!
When it comes to 4 “P”s of marketing (products, price, place and promotion), low income and kids of color – especially Blacks and Latinos – are a target for junk food marketers. While I am definitely not one to say that snacks, sugary drinks or even fast food should be banned, there should not be more ads and promotions for these products in poorer neighborhoods than in more affluent ones. It’s an issue of equality – especially since the highest rates of diet-related illnesses are in low-income communities.
Party for Change Workshop
Personally, I want to advocate for better childhood nutrition by getting parents involved. Since I had a conversation about the need for healthy cooking classes for moms receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly Food Stamps) with the director of the transition home that my family volunteered at last year, I have been pondering what I could do to help. Grocery shopping trips, nutrition classes and healthy(ish) food cooking classes are things that I want to offer. My biggest question going into the weekend was, “How?” What are the best agencies to work with and what’s the best way to get the parents interested?
That is where the “Party for Change” workshop helped. It provided some helpful practical tips regarding how to organize fun activities that would engage and educate both the parents and their kids. I’m looking forward to seeing what I will be able to help do in 2015. I’ll definitely keep you posted!
Overall, I had an amazing time. It was wonderful to be learning from and swapping ideas with so many passionate women…mainly moms. Although we all had different nutritional areas that were close to our hearts, we were all committed to advocating for healthy food choices for all families. If you are interested in joining an online and/or on-the-ground organization that advocates for a variety of family issues, I highly recommend that you become a part of MomsRising.org.
