What FSNA will do

FSNA staff will send legislators the following:

You do not have to worry about these resources. All legislators will receive these prior to your meeting.


Step-by-Step Guide

1. Find your legislator

Use the Find Your Legislator tool or see the Legislator Spreadsheet. This spreadsheet contains each legislator's name, contact information, and a list of counties in their district. 

2. Request a meeting!

Make sure another member hasn't met with them yet by looking at the Legislator Spreadsheet, and contact them via their email to set-up a meeting. Send the legislator or their aides a short email, making sure to CC the appropriate people. Legislators and their aides receive hundreds of emails a day, so keep the email clear and concise, and include the following info:

  • A concise subject line
  • Your name, position, district, and contact info
  • Who will be attending the meeting, and their positions (CC these people!)
  • A short bullet point list of the topics you intend to talk about

Please record your meeting date and time in the Legislator Spreadsheet. If your legislator is unable to meet and instead suggests you meet with their aide(s), that's great! Aides play a very important role in legislative work and it's valuable to meet with them.

3. Prepare your County Fact Sheet

Find your county fact sheet, and copy and paste it into a separate Word document. If possible, send this to the legislator/aides before your meeting. You should only be sending your county's fact sheet.

4. Attend your meeting

At the meeting, speak about the talking points, share a heart-warming story about school nutrition, or simply ask what their plans are to support school nutrition. Legislator meetings are typically short, around 10 minutes, so make the most out of this time. The most important part of the meeting is to begin a relationship with your legislator. 

5. Let us know how it went!

Send your legislator and/or aides a thank you letter! You can download our template for sample language. Then download and fill out the follow-up form and email, fax, or mail it to us. We want to know how your meeting went!


 Take Your Legislator Out to Lunch: From Invite to Follow-up