FWD: Call to Action: Protect Nutrition Education, School Gardens, and Student Wellness in Philadelphia Schools
Phil Forsyth
From: Hannah Jo <joha...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Aug 5, 2026 at 9:51 AM
Subject: [PHAN] ***Call to Action: Protect Nutrition Education, School Gardens, and Student Wellness in Philadelphia Schools
To: PHAN (Philadelphia Agricultural Network) <pha...@googlegroups.com>
Hello PHAN fam,
I and other members of the School District of Philadelphia Office of Nutrition are sending City Council an urgent letter this week urging action to preserve Eat Right Philly, school garden operations, and holistic wellness programming for public school students. The elimination of Pennsylvania's SNAP-Education (SNAP-Ed) grant funding means that, without municipal intervention, Eat Right Philly programming will end on September 30, 2026 — dissolving the District's centralized Office of Nutrition and eliminating health resources that reach 213 schools, 60 of which are served directly by the District's core team.
We're asking partner organizations to add a signed letter of support to strengthen this coalition ask. The District's letter outlines what's at stake (10+ school garden hubs, specialized staff and institutional knowledge, hands-on nutrition education, and centralized multi-agency coordination) and requests a $2.4 million annual bridge fund, structured as a public-private partnership, to sustain this work while longer-term funding is established.
What we're asking of you:
- A signed letter of support addressed to City Council expressing your organization's support for this bridge funding request. You're welcome to use the attached template as a starting point, or write freely in your own voice — whatever best reflects your organization's perspective and relationship to this work.
- Sign and share our petition with your networks: https://www.change.org/saveEatRightPhilly
Deadline: Please send us your signed letter by end of day Monday, August 10. Given the October 1 cutoff, we need every letter in hand by then to compile and deliver the full coalition packet to Council with time for them to act.
Please reach out with any questions, or if you'd like to talk through what to include. Thank you for standing with Philadelphia's students on this.
Best,
Hannah
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