SAMPLE LETTER TO SENATE ON CHILD NUTRITION ACT (To Customize and Put on Your Company Letterhead)
[Insert Date] The Honorable [Insert Full Name of Senator] United States Senate Washington DC 20510 VIA FAX Dear Senator [Insert Last Name],
On behalf of [insert company name and city/state], I am writing to ask you to help preserve milk's central role in the federally funded child nutrition programs. I understand that the U.S. Senate will soon consider legislation to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act which provides funding for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. [Insert information about your company - # employees, location/plant, products, years of service. Mention that your facility provides excellent job opportunities for # employees, who contribute significantly to the local economy.] The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved H.R. 3873, The Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act, by a nearly unanimous vote (419-5). The milk provision in the House bill (Section 304) gives schools the flexibility to offer all varieties of milk, including new flavored and lactose-free varieties, to American schoolchildren on the school lunch line and at anytime and anywhere on school campuses and at school events. It also contains a compromise to give parents a greater role in selecting alternative beverages for children who have special dietary needs. This compromise, as well as the entire section is strongly supported by dairy farmers and processors. A concerted effort is underway to unravel the bipartisan agreement on the milk provisions passed by the House. Please contact the Senate Agriculture Committee leadership--Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Ranking Democrat Tom Harkin (D-IA)-- whose committee has jurisdiction over this issue, and urge them to preserve the milk provisions (section 304) of the House-passed bill, H.R. 3873. Please feel free to contact me or my trade association in Washington, D.C., the International Dairy Foods Association for more information at 202-737-4332. Sincerely,
CC: IDFA