Serve Kids Better – Healthy Kids’ Meals Content Calendar

Announcement & Policy Statement

• Today @American_Heart & @AmerAcadPeds released a landmark statement with policy recommendations to reduce kids’ consumption of #sugarydrinks. Read the recommendations here https://bit.ly/2uoRnEZ.
• .@AmerAcadPeds & @American_Heart endorse sugary drink taxes to reduce consumption and fund programs that improve health for everyone. https://bit.ly/2JCrmwj
• Sugary drinks can lead to tooth decay, diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Yet beverage companies continue to market these drinks relentlessly to kids. @AmerAcadPeds & @American_Heart joined forces to call for limits on marketing of sugary drinks to kids. https://bit.ly/2JCrmwj
• Sugary drinks can lead to an increased risk of heart disease and long-term health problems. @AmerAcadPeds & American_Heart recommend a series of public health policies to decrease kids’ sugary drink consumption. <Insert Link to Policy Statement>
• “For children, the biggest source of added sugars often is not what they eat, it’s what they drink,” – @DrNatalieMuth. Read more from @AmerAcadPeds & American_Heart on the dangers of sugary drinks and policies that can help our kids drink fewer of them. https://bit.ly/2JCrmwj
• Children and teens consume over 30 gallons of sugary drinks a year. That’s enough to fill a bathtub. Check out policy recommendations from @AmerAcadPeds & American_Heart to reduce kids’ consumption of sugary drinks. https://bit.ly/2JCrmwj
• “We know what works to protect kids’ health and it’s time we put effective policies in place that bring down rates of sugary drink consumption just like we’ve done with tobacco.” – Fmr @American_Heart Nutrition Chair Rachel K. Johnson https://bit.ly/2uoRnEZ 
• Reducing sugary drink consumption can improve children’s health. Read more from @SaludAmerica bit.ly/2uz2oTX 

USA Today Op-Ed

• “The ubiquity of sugary drink products and ads in our communities is cause for great concern. In the US, 40,000 deaths every year are attributed to heart problems caused specifically by consuming too many #sugarydrinks.” say @AmerAcadPeds @American_Heart in @USAToday https://bit.ly/2V1zU0I
• #BreakingNews: @AmerAcadPeds @American_Heart endorse taxes, restricting marketing and more to help get kids off #sugarydrinks! https://bit.ly/2V1zU0I
• Every child in every community deserves to grow up healthy. That’s why @American_Heart and @AmerAcadPeds have published a joint policy statement on #SugaryDrinks. Read more from @AAPPres Dr. Kyle Yasuda & AHA Prez Dr. @IvorBenjamin2 from @USAToday https://bit.ly/2V1zU0I
• On average, children and teens drink enough sugary drinks each year to fill a bathtub. @AmerAcadPeds & American_Heart have issued policy recs to reduce #SugaryDrink consumption. Read more in today’s @USAToday from @AAPPres Dr. Kyle Yasuda & AHA Prez Dr. @IvorBenjamin2 https://bit.ly/2V1zU0I
• .@AmerAcadPeds & American_Heart: the evidence is irrefutable: sugary drinks pose significant risks to our children’s health, including tooth decay, diabetes, obesity and heart disease. We must act to protect our kids. https://bit.ly/2V1zU0I
• “Taxes, limits on marketing, and other effective policies helped significantly reduce tobacco rates and will have a similar impact on bringing down rates of sugary drink consumption.” – @AAPPres Dr. Kyle Yasuda & AHA Prez Dr, @IvorBenjamin2 https://bit.ly/2V1zU0I
• @AmerAcadPeds and @American_Heart are proud to stand with communities that are developing creative solutions and working together to address kids’ consumption of sugary drinks. Read more about their landmark policy statement in @USATODAY https://bit.ly/2V1zU0I
• Sugary drink taxes reduce consumption and fund health priorities like pre-k programs, access to water in schools, early learning programs, oral health programs, & community college scholarships. Read more from @AmerAcadPeds & @American_Heart in @USAToday https://bit.ly/2V1zU0I

We have grouped tweets by topic to make it easier to find specific content.  However, feel free to use posts in any order you’d like.

Serve Kids Better

• Serve 👏 Kids 👏 Better 👏. Children should have healthy beverage options no matter where they eat! Speak out for healthier kids’ meals today: bit.ly/2BeZY2R 
• 42% of kids ages 2-9 eat fast food on a given day. Sign @VoicesAction’s petition to show your support for making healthy beverages the default for kids’ meals. bit.ly/2BaWz2L
• #DYK only 3% of kids’ meal options are healthy? Let’s call on restaurants to #ServeKidsBetter and make healthy beverages the default. bit.ly/2BeZY2R  
• Our lives are busy and we’re eating out more and more. Let’s make sure all kids have access to healthy options at restaurants, no matter where they live. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• Our kids need less 🥤🍟 and more 🥛🥗🍎. Speak out for healthier kids’ meals today if you agree that it’s time restaurants #ServeKidsBetter: bit.ly/2BaWz2L
  • Emojis: Soda, Fries, Milk, Salad, Apple
• By supporting water, milk, or 100% juice as the default beverage for kids’ meals in restaurants, we can normalize healthy habits. Call your local representative today and express support for #HealthyKidsMeals bit.ly/2Fm1yRr
• Call your local representative today and share your support for healthy beverages in kids’ meals. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2Fm1yRr
• RT if you agree: Restaurants should make healthy beverages the default in kids’ meals to #ServeKidsBetter: bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• Let’s commit to making eating out healthy for our kids and ensuring water, milk, or 100% juice are the default beverages. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• When kids eat at restaurants they consume more calories, more saturated fat, and more sugar. This shouldn’t be the case. It’s time to #ServeKidsBetter and support #HealthyKidsMeals. Take action today: bit.ly/2BaWz2L
• Commit today to ask your local restaurants to #ServeKidsBetter and make healthy beverages the default for kids’ meals bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• 👋 Fast Food Restaurants: #ServeKidsBetter. Make healthy beverages the default for kids’ meals. bit.ly/2BeZY2R  
• Every child deserves to grow up at a healthy weight, which means promoting healthy beverage options, like water and milk, everywhere children eat, including restaurants. Let’s #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• Nearly two-thirds of kids living in the U.S. consume a sugary drink daily. By making healthy beverages like water or milk the default choice in restaurants, we can decrease that number. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• Kids today consume 10 times the recommended amount of sugary drinks. Offering water and healthy beverages in kids’ meals is one way we can #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• Drinking sugary drinks like soda, sports drinks, or fruit drinks with added sugar poses a real health risk to kids. Let’s commit to #ServeKidsBetter and call on restaurants to make healthy beverages the default for kids’ meals bit.ly/2BeZY2R

Success Stories

• Earlier this year thanks to the hard work of groups like @WeArePHA, #California became the first state in the nation to require water or milk as the default beverage with kids’ meals in restaurants. 👏👏👏 #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BgJuFs
• #California law requires restaurants to serve 💧water or 🥛milk as the default drink with kids’ meals. A move one CA mom says “takes some of the stress out of providing nutritious choices and makes it more the norm.” #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BgJuFs
• Knowing that kids’ meals will come with a healthy drink means peace of mind for #California parents. Earlier this year, California became the 1st state to require restaurants to serve #HealthyByDefault beverages with kids’ meals. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BgJuFs
• .@WeArePHA helped make eating out healthier for #California kids. Read about their work on California’s #HealthyByDefault Kid’s Meals Bill. bit.ly/2BgJuFs
• #FACT: Each year in the US, 40,000 deaths are attributed to heart problems caused by drinking too many sugary drinks. #California has taken action to address this and decrease the number of sugary drinks children consume. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BgJuFs
• In #Baltimore, 1 of every 4 children consumes at least one sugary drink a day. Thanks to the work of @SugarFreeKidsMD, the city now requires all kids’ meals to come with a #HealthyByDefault drink like water, milk, or 100% juice. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2Ec7nzL
• Every family should have healthy options when they go out to eat. Thanks to the work of advocates for #healthy kids in #Baltimore like @SugarFreeKidsMD, kids’ meals are now served with water, milk, or 100% juice. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2Ec7nzL
• When we #ServeKidsBetter, we all win. bit.ly/2Tt5NyE
• Providing nutritious kids’ meals can improve kids’ health AND restaurants’ bottom lines. See how: bit.ly/2Tt5NyE
• .@VTHeartAssoc & @Voices4HK are teaming up to help bring healthier kids’ meals to the state of #Vermont. Read more here: bit.ly/2GmYnds

 Targeted Marketing of Sugary Drinks

• Everyone should have access to healthy drinks like water💧 and milk🥛 no matter where they live. Unfortunately, communities of color often have less access to these healthy options and drink more sugary drinks. bit.ly/2PCN9Sf
• The beverage industry targets communities of color, which results in more #sugarydrink consumption. It’s time for change. Everyone deserves access to healthy drinks💧💧. bit.ly/1UzntU4
• Hispanic kids are 93% more likely than their non-Hispanic peers to visit sugary drink company websites because of targeted marketing. bit.ly/1UzntU4
• African American children &  teens see twice as many ads for sugary drinks as their white peers. As a result, they’re more likely to consume these drinks. bit.ly/1UzntU4
• #DYK: one way the beverage industry targets African American and Latino communities is to place outdoor advertisements in their neighborhoods. bit.ly/1UzntU4
• Communities of color are among the most at-risk groups for diet-related diseases, yet the beverage industry spends millions each year targeting the marketing of sugary drinks to these communities. Read the latest from @UConnRuddCenter  bit.ly/1UzntU4
• People of color are at a greater risk of developing diseases such as type 2 diabetes and ❤️disease, yet the beverage industry continues to target these communities with #sugarydrink ads. bit.ly/1UzntU4

We have grouped posts by topic to make it easier to find specific content.  However, feel free to use posts in any order you’d like.

Serve Kids Better

• Children should have healthy beverages no matter where they eat! Speak out for healthier kids’ meals today. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BaWz2L
• 42% of kids ages 2-9 eat fast food on a given day. Sign @VoicesAction’s petition to show your support for making healthy beverages the default for kids’ meals. bit.ly/2BaWz2L
• Have you looked at the kids’ menu at your favorite restaurant lately? What were some of the items you saw? Were healthy beverages an option? Our kids deserve healthy drinks and there are policies we can support to make sure they have them. Learn more here: bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• Did you know only 3% of kids’ meal options are healthy? Let’s call on restaurants to #ServeKidsBetter and make healthy beverages the default. bit.ly/2BeZY2R  
• Our lives are busy and we’re eating out more and more. Let’s make sure all kids have access to healthy options at restaurants, no matter where they live. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• Speak out for healthier kids’ meals today and call on restaurants to #ServeKidsBetter: bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• When kids eat at restaurants they consume more calories, more saturated fat, and more sugar. This shouldn’t be the case. It’s time to support healthier kids meals and urge restaurants to #ServeKidsBetter by serving water, milk, or 100% juice as the default beverages with kids’ meals. bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• Commit today to ask your local restaurants to #ServeKidsBetter and make healthy beverages the default for kids’ meals bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• Hey, Fast Food Restaurants: #ServeKidsBetter. Make healthy beverages the default for kids’ meals.bit.ly/2BeZY2R  
• Every child deserves to grow up at a healthy weight, which means promoting healthy beverage options, like water and milk, everywhere children eat, including restaurants. Let’s call on restaurants to #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• Nearly two-thirds of kids living in the U.S. consume a sugary drink daily. By making healthy beverages like water or milk the default choice in restaurants, we can decrease that number. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• Drinking sugary drinks like soda, sports drinks, or fruit drinks with added sugar poses a real health risk to kids. Yet so many restaurants include these items on kids’ meals. Let’s take action today and call on restaurants to #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• Kids today consume 10 times the recommended amount of sugary drinks. Offering water and healthy beverages in kids’ meals is one way we can #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BeZY2R
• By supporting water, milk, or 100% juice as the default beverage for kids’ meals in restaurants, we can normalize healthy habits. Call your local representative today and express support for healthy kids meals. bit.ly/2Fm1yRr
• Call your local representative today and share your support for healthy beverages in kids’ meals. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2Fm1yRr

Success Stories

• Earlier this year thanks to the hard work of groups like @PHAdvocates, California became the first state in the nation to require water or milk as the default beverage with kids’ meals in restaurants. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BgJuFs
• California law requires restaurants to serve water or milk as the default drink with kids’ meals. A move one California mom says “takes some of the stress out of providing nutritious choices and makes it more the norm.” #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BgJuFs
• Knowing that kids’ meals at restaurants will always come with a healthy drink means peace of mind for California parents. Read more about how @PHAdvocates worked to make California the first state to require restaurants to serve milk or water as the default beverage in kids’ meals. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BgJuFs
• FACT: Each year in the US, 40,000 deaths are attributed to heart problems caused by drinking too many sugary drinks. California has taken action to address this and decrease the number of sugary drinks children consume. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2BgJuFs
• In Baltimore, one out of every four children consumes at least one sugary drink a day. Thanks to the work of advocates like @SugarFreeKidsMD, the city’s healthy kids’ meal bill requires all kids’ meals to come with a healthy-by-default drink like water, milk, or 100% juice. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2Ec7nzL
• Milk, water or 100% juice? Those are the default options for kids’ meals in Baltimore thanks to the work of @SugarFreeKidsMD. bit.ly/2Ec7nzL
• Every family should have healthy options when they go out to eat. Thanks to the work of advocates for healthy kids in Baltimore like @SugarFreeKidsMD, kids’ meals are now served with water, milk, or 100% juice. #ServeKidsBetter bit.ly/2Ec7nzL
• When we #ServeKidsBetter, we all win. bit.ly/2Tt5NyE
• Providing nutritious kids’ meals can improve kids’ health AND restaurants’ bottom lines. See how: bit.ly/2Tt5NyE
• .@VTHeartAssoc & @VoicesForHealthyKids are teaming up to help bring healthier kids’ meals to the state of Vermont. Read more here: bit.ly/2GmYnds

Targeted Marketing of Sugary Drinks

• Everyone should have access to healthy drinks like water and milk no matter where they live. Unfortunately, communities of color often have less access to these healthy options and drink more sugary drinks. bit.ly/2PCN9Sf
• The beverage industry targets communities of color, which results in more #sugarydrink consumption. It’s time for change. Everyone deserves access to healthy drinks. bit.ly/1UzntU4
• Hispanic kids are 93% more likely than their non-Hispanic peers to visit sugary drink company websites because of targeted marketing. bit.ly/1UzntU4
• African American children &  teens see twice as many ads for sugary drinks as their white peers. As a result, they’re more likely to consume these drinks. bit.ly/1UzntU4
• Did you know, one way the beverage industry targets African American and Latino communities is to place outdoor advertisements in their neighborhoods. bit.ly/1UzntU4
• Communities of color are among the most at-risk groups for diet-related diseases, yet the beverage industry spends millions each year targeting the marketing of sugary drinks to these communities. Read the latest from @UConnRuddCenter  bit.ly/1UzntU4
• People of color are at a greater risk of developing diseases such as type 2 diabetes and disease, yet the beverage industry continues to target these communities with #sugarydrink ads. bit.ly/1UzntU4

If you or your team have any specific questions related to media pitching, please contact Suzette Harris at sharris@heart.org.

Editorial Board Meeting Tip Sheet  

Use this tip sheet to request and prepare for a meeting with the editorial board of your local paper.

Sample Op-Ed

This is a sample op-ed on the importance of healthy kids’ meals from the perspective of a pediatrician that you can use for inspiration. Please consider your own stories and experiences as a way to personalize the op-ed. Be sure to include specific information about your campaign.

If you or your team have any specific questions related to grassroots advocacy, please contact Raul Espinoza at raul.espinoza@heart.org.

Serve Kids Better Action Alert

Action alerts are messages that spur your advocates and the general public to get involved with your campaign. Use this draft action alert on healthy kids’ meals for inspiration to develop one for your specific campaign. These alerts can be sent out via e-mail, letter, phone call, or even on social media.

• SNAP Incentives
• Preemption
• Safe Routes to Schools
• Protect PE
• Year Of Action