Minnesotans for Healthy Kids Coalition
2021 Legislative Session Policy Agenda
Offense
Healthy Kids’ Meals
Support passage of a comprehensive statewide Healthy Kids’ Meal bill, which promotes healthy sides and beverages like water and milk as the default options for kids’ meals served at restaurants.
Healthy Kids’ Meals Fact Sheet
What MHK will support: Water and Milk, or Non-Dairy Milk Alternatives that do not contain sweeteners as default beverage
What MHK will not support: 100% Fruit Juice or other Juices and Flavored Milk
Access to Healthy Foods in Schools – Universal Meals Campaign
Support passage of a universal meals program for Minnesota schools, which will significantly increase access to healthy food for children in school settings.
Safety Around Water – YMCA
Support continuing statewide funding for Safety Around Water/10,000 Lakes and 10,000 Kids by providing swimming and safety instructions to improve kid’s health and reducing injuries and fatalities from drowning in Minnesota. Grants are made to support scholarships to cover fees for swimming lessons for low income and at-risk children.
Defense
Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP)
Support maintaining stable, statewide funding for SHIP at $35 million per biennium to help all Minnesotans live healthier, longer lives and continue to drive down state health care costs.
Farm to School Funding
Support continuing stable, statewide funding for Farm to School programs in Minnesota by maintaining $400,000 per biennium in the AGRI fund of MDA’s budget funding a grant to reimburse schools for their purchases from local farms. This program increases fresh healthy foods in school meals at a time when more children than ever depend on school meals for nutrition, and supports building a crucial market for emerging farmers in MN.
Coalition Support
Declarations of Racism as a Public Health Crisis
Across the country, local and state leaders are declaring racism a public health crisis or emergency. These declarations are an important first step in the movement to advance racial equity and justice and must be followed by allocation of resources and strategic action.