Serve Chicago Kids Better.
Please join Mercy Hospital & Medical Center and the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC) for a meeting to discuss ways to ensure children have healthy options when dining out at restaurants on Tuesday, December 5 from 9:30 to 11:00 AM at Oakwood Shores Community Center located at 3825 S. Vincennes Avenue.
Our City's families deserve access to nutritious meals when they eat out, and parents deserve for those healthful opportunities to be plentiful and readily available. This past September, CLOCC launched a new campaign to Serve Chicago Kids Better in an effort to explore healthier options for restaurant kids’ meals.
In previous generations, eating out was considered a treat and a special occasion. That is no longer the case in urban areas like Chicago where family schedules are stressed and restaurants are plentiful and affordable. One in every three children in Chicago are eating out at fast-food restaurants on any given day. A factor in this trend: the restaurant industry spends over a half a BILLION dollars marketing to children every year.
Mercy Hospital has been caring for Chicago for over a century and sees its role as not only a healthcare provider, but a caring member of the Chicago community. Mercy is committed to improving the health of our children and communities by working in collaboration with community partners. At a time, where kindergarten-aged Chicago children have been found to be overweight at a prevalence rate of 36.5%, more than twice the national average and unhealthy weight in children means kids are at a greater risk for numerous adverse health consequences, now is the time to encourage restaurants in Chicago to do their part to make sure our children have access to healthier meals.
Come and hear from Jameika Sampson, Mercy’s Director of Community Health and Well-Being and CLOCC’s Advocacy Program Manager, Katie Danko about the Serve Chicago Kids Better Campaign and ways your organization can help working parents and Chicago communities by advocating for healthier kids' meals in Chicago.
Contact Katie Danko (kdanko@luriechildrens.org) or Jameika Sampson (jameika.sampson@mercy-chicago.org) with questions.