Only 2 days left to vote and why you should vote for me

For more than 35 years, I have tracked the major food trends and issues; how our food is grown, processed, prepared, marketed, and sold by the food industry to both children and adults, regulated by our government, and consumed by the American population. I know the barriers to losing weight, why our children keep getting more obese, and what needs to change in our political, educational, economic, and food supply system to reverse this obesity and hunger epidemic. I also know the barriers and challenges preventing more economic development in urban cities and rural areas in America and how new, healthy food enterprises and small businesses could be the economic driver to create more economically sustainable communities.

As a stakeholder and contributing member of many health, economic, educational, and social-based community organizations, I have spent years being passionate and dedicated to fighting the childhood obesity, hunger, education and economic problems facing America today. As an American citizen, businesswomen, entrepreneur, and educator, I believe it’s our duty and responsibility to invest in the future prevention of these epidemic problems and to work quickly, diligently, and collaboratively to find innovative, visionary, cost-effective, sustainable solutions to these growing problems before the American economy and future citizens of our country are too broken or too unhealthy to fix. 

Throughout my life and career, I've been an innovator, problem solver and change agent. With your votes, I can make the difference in the lives of students, their families, and their communities. I can give them the tools, inspiration and mentoring needed to pursue the American Dream and create more succesful and profitable small and growing food businesses -- the backbone of the American economy.

I know it's the beginning of the July 4th holiday weekend and some of you have already started your vacation, but please take a minute to vote for me at www.missionsmallbusiness.com and select Culinary Connections. Help me put Microentrepreneurs for a Healthy Body, Home, Community and World into action now. I'm fighting to make America and the population of our nation healthy and strong!

I need your vote by June 30th. Thanks for your support.

I am writing to ask for your help. Chase and Living Social are offering twelve $250,000 grants to small business owners. Many of you know I've been trying to find funding to pilot my Microentrepreneurs for a Healthy Body, Home, Community and World program.

Each business needs at least 250 votes to be considered for a $250,000 grant. Eligible small business applicants will then be judged by a panel of business experts. If Culinary Connections can collect 250 votes, I will be considered for the grant. The deadline to collect the votes is June 30th.

Please ask everyone one in your network (family, friends, business) if they would please support my vision and vote for me.

To support my vision go to: https://www.missionsmallbusiness.com

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SCROLL DOWN AND ENTER Culinary Connections,ILLINOIS, Chicago

CLICK THE SEARCH BUTTON. THEN VOTE! REMEMBER, JUNE 30TH IS THE DEADLINE

Thank you for your vote!

Wish me luck,

Marcia

Microentrepreneurs for a Healthy Body, Home, Community and World, is targeted to help low income, minority and disadvantaged youths from underserved areas become the gatekeepers of their health, create the next generation of healthier foods and businesses, graduate high school, compete in the 21st century global economy, and succeed in life. It can also be adapted for a workforce development program for youths/adults or for start-up, small and emerging entrepreneurial, minority and immigrant owned food enterprises, to create jobs and economically sustainable communities.

Microentrepreneurs for a Healthy Body, Home, Community and World

Microentrepreneurs for a Healthy Body, Home, Community and World, targeted to low income, minority and disadvantaged youths from underserved areas.  

Mission:

Break the cycle of obesity and malnutrition through innovative, motivating, interactive, media enriched entrepreneurial food programs that will create a healthier population and new generation of healthier food products and businesses in the profit and nonprofit marketplace.

Execute pilot program, strategically designed to become a sustainable, reproducible, and cost-effective model for combating the obesity, education, and economic epidemic in Chicago and America.  

Philosophy of Learning: 

 “Teach them how to fish so they will have food for a lifetime”.

Description of Project Goals and Objectives:

Empower and inspire students to improve their eating behaviors, lose weight, make healthier food choices, and become the gatekeepers of their health for a lifetime.

Develop marketable, competitive, achievable, lifelong skills for students in health, education and business and empower them to be socially and economically responsible.

Increase the self-esteem of students and sense of accomplishment/achievement, especially for minority, inner-city, and disadvantaged students, through entrepreneurism.

Create opportunities to provide affordable, convenient, delicious and healthier foods in the schools, homes, communities and workplace.

 Issues:

1/3 child/teen population, 2/3 adult population are obese or overweight in U.S. Chicago is 4th highest in U.S. childhood obesity. U.S. health care cost of obesity is $147 billion/yr. Illinois obesity costs are $3.4 billion a year and projected to rise to $15 billion by 2018 if trends continue (Illinois Public Health Institute).

Overweight kids are at risk for poorer academic achievement, increased absenteeism, health-related diseases, shorter life span. 1/3rd drop out of U.S. high schools/yr = 1.2 M kids/year; about 50% for African American and Hispanic/Latino kids. Only 55.8% CPS high school students graduate within 5 years.

Disconnected youths and high school dropouts more likely to be unemployed in adult life, require public assistance, create crimes, and become a permanent burden to society.  

Bottom Line:

Invest now in youth obesity prevention, innovative learning, and world-class education or pay later with poor health, chronic diseases, dropouts, crime, incarceration, and rising government debt.