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Developing an Advocacy Campaign Essay.docx
1. Developing an Advocacy Campaign Essay
Developing an Advocacy Campaign EssayEnactment of the Proposed Policy through
Modification of an Existing LawThe Student Nutrition and Healthy Act of 2005 is a bill that
mandates local agencies of education with grants to either lease or purchases vending
machines to ensure healthy beverages and foods are served in schools. According to Karnik
& Kanekar (2015), this law further dictates the specific products and maximum portions
that promote healthy nutrition that should be served. As a result, the removal of vending
machines that do not promote nutritious drinks and foods in schools will be guaranteed.
This bill is well aligned with the goals of my proposed policy and is relevant to the choices
regarding the selection of beverages and foods to promote healthy nutrition. Therefore, I
wouldn’t make any alterations to it.Developing an Advocacy Campaign EssayThe Stop
Obesity in Schools Act of 2015 is a bill which discusses the need for routine physical
exercises and improving the nutritional value of meals served in schools through the
expansion of various activities (Lobstein, et al., 2015). This bill would be a good starting
point since it has goals similar to my proposed policy. However, it fails to be more specific.
There is essence in specifying the time that should be spent on physical exercises to ensure
uniformity across all learning institutions. In this case, having a physical activity each
lasting sixty minutes between school activities in two school days of choice is a preferable
option.Developing an Advocacy Campaign EssayThe Supermarket Tax Credit for
Underserved Areas Act of 2015 is legislation that purposes to provide a tax credit on
vegetables and fruits for supermarkets located in underserved communities. Despite the
fact that it does not aim to directly reduce childhood obesity, I am certain that this policy
provides room for increasing supermarkets in communities that are underserved (Hawkes,
et al., 2015). This is attributed to the fact that it was not intended to solely safeguard
currently existing supermarkets from tax credits. With this bill as a foundation, new
legislation that relates directly to childhood obesity should be created. This will need the
identification of underserved communities and submission of relevant demographics to the
federal government so that, communities and business willing to put up supermarkets in
underserved areas are availed with tax credits and grants (Hawkes, et al., 2015). As a result,
schools in such communities can readily access fruits and vegetables that promote healthy
nutrition to be incorporated in school diets.Developing an Advocacy Campaign EssayORDER
A PLAGIARISM- FREE PAPER NOWHow Existing Laws Could Affect Advocacy
EffortsOrganizations and individuals who are authorized or not authorized to register for
lobbying at the legislature and executive levels are well explained by the Lobbying Act of
2. 1946. Apart from reducing the influence of lobbyists, this law ensures that the members of
Congress get the relevant information on those who lobby them (Downes, Supa & Austin,
2017). For organizations and individuals who fail to comply with this act, it strengthens the
possible penalties with fines of up to $5,000 (Downes, Supa & Austin, 2017). Alternatively,
they might be barred from lobbying to a maximum of 3 years. Therefore, the advocacy
efforts for the proposed policy are likely to be affected by this law. Developing an Advocacy
Campaign EssayMethods Used To Influence Legislators and Other Policymakers to Support
This PolicyThe three legs approach would be a commendable strategy to support this
policy. This would require that advocacy efforts begin at the community level to engage
community leaders, in healthcare settings to engage health practitioners and school settings
where Parent-Teacher Associations and school employees would be engaged. As supported
by Peralta, Dudley & Cotton (2016), it will be essential to discuss the clarity and purpose of
the bill when engaging the aforementioned stakeholders. The proposed policy seeks to
ensure that nutritional food options are availed in schools and that children routinely
participate in physical exercise. These stakeholders will be required to do further research
on the proposed policy and share with their legislators and representatives on the need to
support this bill and reduce the incidences of childhood obesity.Developing an Advocacy
Campaign EssayShirley et al., (2015) emphasize the importance of maximizing on the
benefits of today’s digitization as an advocacy channel since it facilitates easier information
sharing and targets a huge audience. Therefore, social media would be an essential tool to
engage the public. Combined efforts from educators, health practitioners, farmers, parents,
and local community farmers will ensure that similar updates on the proposed policy are
shared on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. As a result,
local politicians would also be informed on some of the highlighted issues and the amount
of support gained from affected communities/populations.There are a number of Non-
Governmental Organizations which are actively involved in the advocacy, creation, and
research of policies that aim to prevent childhood obesity. As supported by Downes, Supa &
Austin (2017), America on the Move is a good example as a potential lobby for this
proposed policy. Collaboration between committees of political action and lobby
organizations will facilitate the ability to obtain the support of governors through;
providing statistical evidence on the incidence and prevalence of childhood obesity as a
public health concern and research evidence on the impact of childhood obesity at
individual, community and national level.Developing an Advocacy Campaign
EssayReferencesDownes, E. J., Supa, D. W., & Austin, E. (2017). Political Communications
and Lobbying in the United States. In North American Perspectives on the Development of
Public Relations (pp. 97-111). Palgrave Macmillan, London.Hawkes, C., Smith, T. G., Jewell, J.,
Wardle, J., Hammond, R. A., Friel, S., & Kain, J. (2015). Smart food policies for obesity
prevention. The Lancet, 385(9985), 2410-2421.Karnik, S., & Kanekar, A. (2014). A review of
public health policies for childhood obesity prevention in the United States. Journal of Local
and Global Health Sciences, 4, 1-7.Lobstein, T., Jackson-Leach, R., Moodie, M. L., Hall, K. D.,
Gortmaker, S. L., Swinburn, B. A., ... & McPherson, K. (2015). Child and adolescent obesity:
part of a bigger picture. The Lancet, 385(9986), 2510-2520.Peralta, L. R., Dudley, D. A., &
Cotton, W. G. (2016). Teaching healthy eating to elementary school students: a scoping
3. review of nutrition education resources. Journal of School Health, 86(5), 334-345.Shirley, K.,
Rutfield, R., Hall, N., Fedor, N., McCaughey, V. K., & Zajac, K. (2015). Combinations of obesity
prevention strategies in US elementary schools: a critical review. The journal of primary
prevention, 36(1), 1-20. Developing an Advocacy Campaign Essay