Feel free to leverage any part of this letter in your own effort to be heard on this important issue of our children being fed junk food in school, and even the districts making money on feeding the childhood obesity epidemic:

Hello Rep. Steve Sandstrom:

I’m one of your constituents in Lindon, supported you in the last election,

and heard you speak at Jim Ferrin’s home.   I am a charter school founder and

parent.   I also have a nutrition web site geared toward helping families eat

whole foods, with a mailing list and readership of thousands:

www.GreenSmoothieGirl.com

On the front page of today’s Daily Herald, an article documents how Utah

tops the nation in junk-food vending in our public schools.   I have written

the Daily Herald in the past, in support of the anti-junk-vending bills that have

come before the legislature.   I write to ask if you would work to pass a

bill in the face of this appalling finding that we are leaders in feeding

the childhood obesity epidemic.   Utah should lead out in clean and healthy

values, not earn the distinctions of feeding kids the most chocolate,

high-fat snacks, and sugary sodas of any state in the U.S.

I would be happy to help!   If you know of bills already being sponsored for

this legislative session, please let me know if you will support it/them.   I

think timing is right with release of this study to make a change to help

our kids.   The former surgeon general Richard Carmona said that childhood

obesity is a more present danger to American lives than terrorism.   We can’t

be asleep at the wheel on this issue.

Before I post a blog entry (and possibly send out a mailing to my whole

readership) urging Utahns to write their newspapers, school districts, and

legislators, please let me know what your commitment level is so I can

comment on that.   Please let me know of any legislators supportive of these

concerns.

Many thanks,

Robyn Openshaw-Pay

www.GreenSmoothieGirl.com