The Lactation Dietitian

Did you know that 20% of those with food allergies face food insecurity?

While volunteering at my local food pantry last week, I noticed several allergen- friendly items, which was great! However, it’s not the norm to have this many and most of these were just singletons.

Pictured:
✅ pea-protein milk
✅ muffins
✅ graham crackers
✅ vegan cupcakes
✅ 365 brand vegan mayo
✅ carrot muffins and an assortment of their breads

So, I’m joining forces with to help raise money to fill pantries across the country with allergen-friendly and gluten-free options for those in need! Use the link in my bio to donate!

https://foodiversity.org/donate

I had a great day in Springfield yesterday with
for advocacy day!

It was very busy in the capital building, with this being a deadline week. Unfortunately, the three bills we were advocating for had not passed out of committee, but it was still important to be there to represent the profession and advocate for food and nutrition policy.

The three bills included mandating allergen labeling at all restaurants in Illinois, extending the telehealth coverage past 2028, and extending SNAP benefits to humanitarian immigrants.

I was grateful for the opportunity to lead a small group of nutrition students and show them that when it comes to advocating at the capital flexibility is key! Sessions run over, committee meetings get canceled, and if you want a chance to speak with your legislator sometimes you have to do it on the run, literally!

Thanks to the IAND public policy team for planning a great event!

"This is my minister, Rev. Eric Severson of Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Midland, speaking at yesterday’s rally in response to what’s happening in Minneapolis.

He had just returned from the front lines, answering a call for religious leaders to be present.

The story that has stayed with me most was about an organizer who arrived late because they were delayed from delivering breastmilk to a family with a newborn. The baby was hungry. The mother had been abducted by ICE.

I can’t stop thinking about that moment: a volunteer walking through the cold with a bottle of milk. A woman who expressed her own milk for a child that wasn’t hers. A family receiving it with gratitude. A baby finally fed.

And I can’t stop thinking about the baby’s mother, somewhere in a cell, miles and miles away, her body still painfully producing the food meant for her child that she was taken from.

We are told this is about the 'worst of the worst.' We are told that it is about public safety. And yet, there is a new mother who can’t hold and feed her baby. A baby who had to be fed by a stranger’s kindness.

My heart keeps breaking." -- Sarah Schulz

----

--> With the Senate voting this week on DHS funding, it's critical to keep the pressure on: Here's how to take action.

For Senators: Demand no DHS funding until ICE and Border Patrol are reined in and an independent investigation is launched into their widespread abuses. You can call (202) 224-3121 or use the action alert at https://5calls.org/issue/dhs-budget-ice-defund/

For Representatives: Call (202) 224-3121 and demand real oversight of these lawless agencies -- and the launch of an independent investigation into the activities of ICE and the killings of American citizens by DHS agents.

--> To help immigrants who have been arrested or detained, you can support the critical work of the National Immigrant Justice Center at https://immigrantjustice.org/ways-to-help/

--> If you're looking for ways to take action and counter ICE overreach, supporting civil rights organizations like the ACLU that challenge their tactics in the courts has emerged as one of the most successful means of constraining ICE's rapidly expanding enforcement powers -- learn more at https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-and-detention

----

For children's books that encourage empathy and understanding of Mighty Girl immigrants of the past and present, visit our blog post, "A New Land, A New Life: 25 Mighty Girl Books About the Immigrant Experience" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=12855

For books for children and teens about the importance of standing up for truth, decency, and justice, even in dark times, visit our blog post, "Dissent Is Patriotic: 50 Books About Women Who Fought for Change," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14364

For books for tweens and teens about girls living under real-life authoritarian regimes throughout history that will help them appreciate how precious democracy truly is, visit our blog post "The Fragility of Freedom: Mighty Girl Books About Life Under Authoritarianism" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=32426

To stay connected with A Mighty Girl, you can sign-up for A Mighty Girl's free email newsletter at https://www.amightygirl.com/forms/newsletter