Childhood Obesity

Legislative Agenda: 2012 session

Adam — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:15:02 -0500

Our 2012 legislative agenda calls on lawmakers to:

Protect Apple Health for Kids and State Food Assistance;
Reject further budget cuts that hurt low-income families and children of color;
Improve health with a licensed dental practitioner;
Close the opportunity gap with early learning;
Raise revenue to protect our future.

Download and print our 2012 legislative agenda.

The State of Washington's Children

Adam — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 01:13:33 -0500

The State of Washington’s Children 2012 is a broad review of how Washington’s 1.5 million kids are faring in tough times. The report is issued by KIDS COUNT in Washington, a new partnership between Children’s Alliance and the Washington State Budget & Policy Center.

Read the report.

Fuel Up First with Breakfast Challenge offers one solution to childhood hunger

Adam — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 08:45:56 -0400

State schools superintendent Randy Dorn joined the Children’s Alliance this week to ask school officials to think about how kids start their day: with their minds on their studies, or on their empty stomachs?

Members of our staff joined Superintendent Dorn and the outstanding educators and students of Auburn’s Washington Elementary School Monday morning to demonstrate a simple route to academic success: school breakfast.

The Children’s Alliance, Dorn and other anti-hunger allies have launched the statewide Fuel Up First with Breakfast Challenge. The Challenge aims to increase participation in school breakfast programs by 50 percent over the next two years.

Children's Alliance Annual Membership Meeting

Adam — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:03:26 -0400

Let's say YES to policies that support all Washington's kids! We can use our power and passion as parents, advocates, caregivers and leaders to protect kids and fight for budgets and policies that put kids first. Join us on September 21st at the Children's Alliance Annual Membership Meeting.

Congress’ deal will have long-range impact on kids

Adam — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 18:25:14 -0400

Washington’s 1.7 million kids had no part in negotiating the deal passed by Congress Tuesday to raise the debt ceiling. But their futures will be affected by it, profoundly and perhaps disastrously.

In a very short time, Congress now stands to make decisions with far-reaching effects on programs used by the one million Washington households accessing food stamps; or the nearly 700,000 kids on Medicaid; or the 11,000 children enrolled in Head Start.

WE'RE IN THE NEWS: ANALYSIS: HOW SOFT DRINK LOBBY'S VICTORY IN WA MATTERS TO NATIONAL SODA TAX DEBATE

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:56:44 -0400

The Olympia Newswire continues its coverage of a proposed Washington state soda tax with an analysis of how efforts in this state join initiatives in other states and cities around the country to tax sugar-sweetened beverages.

WE'RE IN THE NEWS: OFF THE TABLE? HOW THE SODA INDUSTRY MADE SURE IT WASN'T TAXED

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:30:31 -0400

A proposal enacting a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to restore funding for health and dental services draws support from some advocates, including the Children's Alliance, and criticism from the soda industry. Olympia Newswire reviews the history of soda industry tax exemptions and how current lobbying efforts may remove the proposal from the table.

‘Please, tax my candy, tax my soda … whatever it takes’

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:34:55 -0500

In this minute-long audio slideshow aimed at our state’s lawmakers, Seattle high schooler Daniel Perlmutter makes a common-sense plea for taxing candy and soda to pay for kids' health care. It’s simple, he says.

“Candy … it’s fun, but it’s not food. Yet our tax laws treat candy like bananas, bread and milk. That’s preposterous!”

WE'RE IN THE NEWS: TAXING SUGARY SNACKS & DRINKS WOULD BE GOOD FOR CHILDREN'S HEALTH

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:15:41 -0500

As the Washington Legislature debates enacting a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, three guests columnists in health care professions make their case for supporting a tax that would both save taxpayers money, reduce childhood obesity, and provide basic health care, nutrition and health-related educational programs.

Benjamin Danielson, M.D., vice president of the Children's Alliance board, David Fleming, M.D., director and health officer of Public
Health-Seattle & King County, and Lenna L. Liu, M.D., pediatrician at Seattle Children's Hospital write:

House is smart to tax candy; soda should be next

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:41:03 -0500

The House has made the right move by proposing a tax on candy and gum. Our state loses out on more than $40 million in revenue every year because these sweets are exempt from state sales tax.