Grassroots support from a decision-maker’s constituents makes a big impact, particularly on local campaigns. These sample materials can help you get started organizing support to move a local decision-maker to become a champion to stop McTeacher’s Nights.
Ask your friends, colleagues, and network to each send an email like the one below. You can fill in the DECISION-MAKER’S NAME sections with school board member Smith, PTA President Smith, Union President Smith, or whomever you have chosen as your identified decision-maker, community leader, or influencer.
Tip: If you’re part of any listservs or email groups, ask the group to send out an email to everyone on the list, asking them to take the action.
You can also ask folks to call the office of your decision-maker or community leader. Leaders in elected positions like school board members and PTA leadership often give more weight to phone calls than emails, especially from constituents. (Make sure you add in the specifics of the resolution or policy, including its official number if it has already been introduced.)
Sample email
Subject: Stop junk food marketing in [YOUR TOWN]
[DECISION-MAKER’S NAME],
My name is _________ and I live in _________. I am writing because I care about the health of our district’s children, and because [YOUR TOWN] is in a position right now to end a particularly egregious form of fast-food marketing to kids: junk food marketing in schools.
We are in the midst of a diet-related health crisis, one that increasingly affects our children. Fast food corporations like McDonald’s exploit children’s vulnerabilities through sophisticated marketing tactics designed to turn them into potentially lifelong customers at a young age. This harmful marketing is driving an epidemic of childhood obesity and diet-related diseases like Type 2 diabetes, which disproportionately affects Black and brown children.
At so-called “McTeacher’s Nights,” McDonald’s has teachers work behind the counter at a local McDonald’s, serving burgers, fries, and soda to students and their families for a paltry percentage of profits from the night. Not only is it wrong to exploit teachers’ authority and popularity to lure kids to McDonald’s, but events like McTeacher’s Nights are also poor fundraisers, with schools often receiving as little as 10 percent of the proceeds of a given night.
[You can insert a paragraph here about why this is important to your town specifically.]
I urge you to support the resolution to end McTeacher’s Nights and harmful junk food marketing sponsorships in [YOUR TOWN’S] schools.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Best,
YOUR NAME
Sample phone call
Tip: Encourage folks to speak from the heart and add their own reasons why they support an end to McTeacher’s Nights.
Hello! My name is ___________ and I live at __________. I’m calling today because I care about the health of children in [YOUR TOWN’S] schools, and I know [DECISION-MAKER’S NAME] does too. I’m urging [DECISION-MAKER’S NAME] to protect our children’s health and put an end to harmful junk food marketing tactics in our schools, like so-called “McTeacher’s Nights.” At McTeacher’s Nights, McDonald’s has teachers work behind the counter selling its harmful fast food to students and students’ families. That’s just wrong!
I’m calling to ask [DECISION-MAKER’S NAME] to support [RESOLUTION/POLICY NUMBER], demanding an end to McTeacher’s Nights. Our district’s students and families look forward to your leadership on this crucial issue.
