Dear Colleague,

As you know, USDA recently proposed national school nutrition standards for vending, a la carte, school stores, and other foods sold outside the school meal programs: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-02-08/pdf/2013-02584.pdf. While the proposed rule is a strong first step, there are a number of issues within the rule that need to be strengthened. We hope that you can comment and urge others to comment in support of a strong final rule.

Thank you to the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity's school foods subcommittee for drafting a model comment (more than 12 organizations came together to write different sections of the model comment) and for creating materials to support organizations' ability to comment and to mobilize their members to comment.

Please let us know how you can help ensure a strong final rule:

• Submit a comment through Regulations.Gov by Tuesday April 9. If you are interested in using or adapting the NANA model comment, please email [log in to unmask] for a copy.
• Sign your organization on to the attached letter in support of strong final standards. (Note: We hope you will consider signing even if you are planning to submit an individual organizational comment.) Please email [log in to unmask] by Thursday March 28 if you would like to sign on.
• Mobilize your members to comment in support of a strong final rule.
  • A model action alert is attached or can be found at http://act.preventobesity.net/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9032&track=homepage
  • The attached toolkit from the Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project includes model Facebook posts, tweets, a newsletter article/blog post, model op-eds, talking points, and more.

Please email hjones@cspinet to let us know what you can do to support this effort.

Thanks,
Margo and Hannah

(See attached file: NANA Competitive Foods Sign-On Letter.doc) (See attached file: NANA-Model Action Alert -final.docx)(See attached file: Toolkit Comp Foods Rule 2013.docx)

Margo Wootan, Hannah Jones
Director, Nutrition Policy
Center for Science in the Public Interest
1220 L Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20005
202-777-8387
202-265-4954 (fax)
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www.cspinet.org/nutritionpolicy