Schoolchildren deserve access to fresh, locally grown food. Yet the foods served up by most school cafeterias are bad for kids, bad for local farm businesses and bad for the environment.

Who gains when the school menu is full of chicken nuggets, “cheese” pizza, french fries and tater tots? Giant food corporations that support factory farms and chemical companies, like Monsanto.

Feeding kids processed food filled with cheap ingredients can have profound and long-lasting health effects. Eating ultra-processed food is linked to heart attack, stroke and early death. It also promotes obesity and diabetes, two life-threatening conditions that are on the rise among kids in the U.S.

The “Kids Eat Local Act” (HR 3220), Introduced by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), would help public schools source more local food, which would in turn give kids access to healthy, nutritious lunches. Plus it would support local farms by creating more market opportunities.

What’s not to love?

TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to Support the “Kids Eat Local Act”