FCS 447-Food Policy

Assignment #3—20 pts

Due: in Assignments folder as a Word (.doc or .docx) document (Please put your
name on your paper and number your answers to correspond to the questions)

Background Information
A federal bill related to the regulation of weight loss fraud is at the committee level. Americans
are increasingly victimized by weight loss product fraud, and many people using these products
believe the products are regulated by the US government. Reports show:
 34% of the public has used weight loss products with unproven claims
 63% are using them to try to improve their health
 54% think the FDA approves these products’ safety
 46% think that the FDA approves these products’ effectiveness
 37% believe these products are safer than prescription or over-the-counter medications
You are a community health nutritionist in Mankato, MN who believes the passage of this
federal bill is very important to the health of your community.

Your assignment:
1) In Mankato, identify city council members, the president of the Chamber of
Commerce, the director of Blue Earth Co. child and family services, the mayor, a
religious leader, and two health care professionals who can help you accomplish your
goal of getting this bill passed at the federal level. (You need to list their actual names
and who they are affiliated with)

President of the Chamber of Commerce- Doug Loon, responsible for the achievement of goals
of the chamber.
Director of Blue Earth Co. Child and Family Services- Anne Broskoff, supervises child and family
services.
Mayor- Najwa Nassad, member of the city council and is the ceremonial leader.
Religious Leader- Paul Meierding, religious leader of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.
Health Care Professionals 1- Bryan Pucik, MD. Family medicine and primary care at Mankato
Clinic.
Health Care Professionals 2- Matthew Carns, MD. Gastroenterology (digestive care) at Mankato
Clinic.

2) How would you network with these professionals? (Explain, in detail, how you would
do this.)
 To network with the city council members, mayor, and the president of chamber, I will
contact their offices in order to obtain an address so I can send a formal letter directly to
them. Once I have an address, I will write a letter providing them my name, purpose of
weight loss fraud, and state why I believe the passage of the bill is important for the
community. I would be polite and straightforward when presenting the information in
the letter. For the rest of the professionals, I will introduce myself as a community
health nutritionist in Mankato in an email. I will also write in the email stating a brief
explanation of what I would like to discuss regarding the bill to be passed. In the email, I
would state that I would like to meet up with them in person to go further into details.
During meeting each professional, I will discuss how much weight loss fraud is affecting
people and that people believe the FDA approves most of the weight loss products.

3) Once you’ve connected with the professionals you listed above, what would be your
next steps in working toward influencing this federal legislation?

Once I have connected with the professionals and all the professionals are on board
with the bill, I will begin working forward to influencing the federal legislation. The first
task I would do is have a meeting with all the professionals and potentially find more
professionals to add to our group to increase our power to influence. We would work to
find connections among staff members in the district and legislators. Educating
policymakers on the proposed bill will directly influence policy. I will then begin to
educate the community on the importance of the bill of weight loss fraud. I will find
more data and research on weight loss fraud to relate to the community. Organizing a
rally or press conference to build public awareness about the issues will also hold the
policymaker accountable to the public. I will encourage people to vote to ensure the
federal legislation is moving forward.

Please Note: You don’t have to write an actual paper for this assignment—just answer the
questions completely (Please put your name on your paper and number your answers to
correspond to the questions). You may find some useful information at
https://www.eatrightpro.org/advocacy.

Work Cited

https://www.blueearthcountymn.gov/Directory.aspx?did=28
http://www.mankatoclinic.com/doctors

https://mn.allpages.com/mankato/community-services/religious-organizations/

https://www.mankatomn.gov/government/city-council