Read on to learn more about this important bill and how you can sign the petition to show your support.

Last year, the DC Health Department found that 43% of students enrolled in city public schools were overweight or obese — one of the highest rates in the nation. On May 4, the DC City Council unanimously passed a groundbreaking piece of legislation called the ‘DC Healthy Schools Act’ to fight this problem. The Act raises nutritional standards, brings fresh, local fruits and vegetables to schools, triples the amount of physical and health education, creates school gardens, and expands school-based health and wellness programs.

The D.C. Healthy Schools Act is a landmark bill that will:

* substantially improve health, wellness, and nutrition in our schools
* raise the nutritional standards and improve the quality of school meals
* bring more fresh, local fruits and vegetables to schools
* triple the amount of and vegetables to schools
* triple the amount of physical and health education by adopting national standards
* create school gardens and support other environmental initiatives
* expand school-based health and wellness programs
* Ensure that low-income students have access to a nutritious breakfast every day

Despite these incredible efforts to grow healthy children, the corporate lobby is fighting to stop this initiative. Coke, Pepsico and Dr. Pepper-Snapple and their super-sized lobby firm the American Beverage Association (ABA) are fighting the means to fund this bill: an additional penny-per-ounce of soda dedicated to healthy schools. ABA has already spent $5.4 million nationwide this year on expensive advertising and backdoor lobbying gimmicks. That’s why we need your help!

The proposed D.C. Healthy Schools Revenue Act would fund this initiative by:

* adding a one-cent-per-ounce tax to sugar-sweetened beverages to fight obesity
* the tax WOULD NOT include diet soda, non-caloric beverages, juices, milk, and water
* the soda tax would be imposed on distributors - NOT our small, local businesses. It would not apply to concentrated syrup, which is primarily sold to restaurants and bars

If you support this bill, sign the petition and share the link with friends! Every signature counts.