Advocacy in the New Year

January 2022

Hello WAMDA Members:

Happy New Year!

The MAND Public Policy Panel has been very active in promoting legislation on the state and national levels that supports optimal nutrition and wellness for all citizens. One WAMDA member who took “action” recently is Bree Orchard –Bree is also the WAMDA Public Relations Chair- and her letter to the editor of the Hampshire Gazette can be found here: https://www.gazettenet.com/Letter-Bree-Orchard-43493008.

Any RDN living in Massachusetts can easily participate. An effective method is to respond to “Calls to Action” that are sent to Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics members, asking us to contact our legislators regarding an issue, or a specific bill that is up for a vote. In order to get these “Call to Action” messages, your preferences must be turned “On” in your “My Academy” online profile. Please check on this so you don’t miss these important updates.

Don’t have time to write an advocacy letter? The information is scripted for you, so you can easily send a personalized copy to your legislator (s), or use that narrative to make a call. Based on your address on file, your national legislators’ contact information is pre-populated for you to send an e-mail; it’s easy!

Managing your Academy subscriptions also ensures that you receive Eat Right Weekly each week, which also provides action alerts and other important information.

On the state level, ThisWeek@MAND comes out bi-weekly, and action alerts will be included in that message as well. WAMDA members can also join MAND's Facebook page, which is private, and follow @eatrightma on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/eatrightma/?hl=en and Twitter https://twitter.com/eatrightMA. MAND's Social Media Manager posts important action alerts on these platforms.

There has been much activity in the area of Public Policy over the past several months, and I want to be sure all WAMDA members are able to stay up to date. Feel free to contact me if you have questions. I can be reached at [email protected].

Alina Schmidt, this year’s Public Policy Co-chair had an idea that we hope will become an annual activity, and that is to “gift” legislators who take action through their official duties to help make WAMDA’s objectives happen. Our focus this year is on the members of the Massachusetts Food System Caucus https://www.mafoodsystemcaucus.com/ , and the 3 senators and 3 representatives received a bottle of locally produced maple syrup and a box of wholegrain pancake mix.

Public policy is part of every RDN’s professional responsibilities. Meeting our goals and priorities for the communities we serve depends on our advocacy.

Judy Dowd, MA, RD, LDN
WAMDA Public Policy
1st Congressional District Grassroots Liaison