Food, Health & Hope — RE>DIRECT Parent Presentation

RE>DIRECT PARENT PRESENTATION

Food, Health & Hope

What our Bolivar County families need to know about food — and what we can do about it, together.

OUR MISSION

Why We're Talking About Food

At RE>DIRECT, we've seen our kids struggle in five areas: mentally, emotionally, spiritually, academically, and physically. We talk a lot about the first four — but food is the piece that touches every single one of them, every single day.

"What's on their plate shapes what happens in the classroom, on the playground, and in their hearts."

Physical

Energy, growth, and immune health all start with nutrition.

Academic

Focus, memory, and behavior in the classroom are diet-linked.

Emotional

Mood swings and irritability often trace back to blood sugar and nutrients.

Mental

Brain fog and attention struggles can be fed — literally — by what's on the menu.

THE LOCAL PICTURE

The Reality in Bolivar County

Bolivar County is part of the Mississippi Delta — three counties recognized as a health disparity region, where roughly 3 in 10 residents live at or below the poverty level.

These aren't abstract numbers — they show up in our own families, classrooms, and Thursday afternoon check-ins.

Bolivar County vs. national average (%)

Food insecurity Adult obesity Adult diabetes

Bolivar County

National average

WHY IT'S SO HARD

The “Convenience” Trap

For many Delta families, the nearest place to buy food isn't a grocery store — it's a gas station or dollar store. And the food environment there works against us.

77%

of Mississippi's 82 counties meet the USDA definition of a food desert.

70%

lower healthy-food availability score at convenience stores vs. full supermarkets.

35–95%

higher prices for the same healthy items at convenience stores vs. supermarkets.

THE HIDDEN LINK

Symptoms We Don't Connect to Food

So many adults live with these every day — and blame stress, aging, or not enough sleep. Rarely do we ask, “What did I eat today?”

Constant fatigue

Sugar and refined-carb spikes and crashes leave the body running on empty, even after a full night's sleep.

Mood swings & irritability

Diets high in processed food are consistently tied to higher anxiety, low mood, and emotional exhaustion.

Brain fog

Diets heavy in ultra-processed food are linked to slower thinking and trouble concentrating — even in people who also eat their fruits and vegetables.

Low iron, B-vitamins & zinc

Common gaps in a processed-food-heavy diet directly cause fatigue, irritability, and trouble focusing.

KIDS & CLASSROOMS

Our Kids Feel It Too

Diets low in fruits, vegetables, and whole foods — and high in fast food, sugary drinks, and processed snacks — are linked to poorer attention, memory, and academic performance.

Children with ADHD often test lower in zinc, iron, and magnesium than their peers. When researchers tried a few-foods elimination diet, most kids in the study saw real improvement.

60%

of children in a few-foods diet study showed substantially decreased ADHD symptoms.

key nutrients — zinc, iron, magnesium — often low in kids struggling with focus.

LET'S BE HONEST

“I Can't Afford to Eat Healthy”

This isn't just a feeling — it's backed by real numbers. Families with less money really do have to work harder, plan more, and spend a bigger share of their budget to eat well.

So no — you're not imagining it. But there is real ground between “can't” and “easy,” and that's where we can help each other.

% of income needed to eat healthy

Higher-income households

Low-income households

Real barriers families told researchers about: cost, travel time to a real grocery store, and time to plan and cook.

THE GOOD NEWS

More Nutrition Per Dollar

Some of the cheapest foods at the store are also some of the most nutrient-dense. It's not about spending more — it's about knowing where the real value is.

Dried beans

About 75 cents to $1 per pound — among the top sources of fiber and potassium for the money.

Rice

About 50 cents to $1 per pound — a filling, affordable base for a balanced plate.

Frozen vegetables

Nearly the same nutrients as fresh — with a much longer shelf life, so less gets wasted.

White potatoes

One of the most nutrient-dense, wallet-friendly vegetables you can buy — not the empty carb they're often labeled.

LOCAL RESOURCES

Help Already Near You

Double Up Food Bucks Mississippi

Matches every SNAP/EBT dollar spent on fruits & vegetables, dollar-for-dollar, up to $20/day, at participating Mississippi grocers and markets. No sign-up needed — just shop and swipe.

Healthy Destination Access

A rideshare partnership (MSU Extension, Bolivar County Council on Aging, MDOT) helping residents get to full grocery stores in Cleveland.

Bolivar County SNAP/EBT locations

48 SNAP-accepting stores are already located across Bolivar County — worth knowing which are closest to you.

MSU Extension Service (Bolivar County)

Free nutrition education, budget-friendly recipes, and cooking classes for families right here in the Delta.

THIS WEEK

Small Swaps, Real Change

Instead of… Try…

Soda or sweet tea with meals

Water, or water with a splash of real juice

Chips or candy for snack

Frozen fruit, plain popcorn, or peanut butter on crackers

Fast-food value meal

Rice + beans + a frozen veggie, cooked at home in 20 minutes

Sugary cereal for breakfast

Oatmeal or eggs — both cheap, filling, and steady energy

OUR PART

How RE>DIRECT Can Walk With You

Healthy snacks, every session

Monday–Thursday, 3:30–5:30pm — your kids already get a nourishing snack as part of our time together.

Take-home resource sheets

Simple, budget-friendly recipes and the local resources from this presentation, sent home with your family.

Family food nights

Hands-on cooking sessions where we prep affordable, healthy meals together — and you leave with the recipe.

One-on-one support

If you want help connecting to Double Up Food Bucks, SNAP, or Extension programs, just ask us — we'll help you take the next step.

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”

3 JOHN 1:2

Thank you for walking this journey with us.

Sugar & Our Kids' Health — RE>DIRECT Parent Meeting

SUGAR & OUR KIDS' HEALTH

What Every Bolivar County Family Should Know

Why This Matters

Children in Bolivar County are growing up in one of the most sugar-saturated, diet-disadvantaged environments in the country.

Elementary-age kids in Delta school districts show overweight/obesity rates near 47% — well above state and national figures.
Mississippi youth soda consumption runs roughly double the U.S. average.
The Delta Health Center in Mound Bayou — right here in Bolivar County — has run a dedicated childhood-obesity program for over a decade because the need is that visible.

47%

of Delta elementary school kids are already overweight or obese

This report looks at what that sugar is doing to kids physically, dentally, and behaviorally — and what's already helping close to home.

The Numbers: Childhood Obesity

47.1%

of Delta elementary students studied were overweight or obese

59.9%

were “at risk” for weight-related disease by waist circumference

44%

of Mississippi kids ages 10–17 are obese — vs. 32% nationally

54%

of Mississippi's Black children are overweight/obese — vs. 36% of white peers

How Much Sugar Are Kids Drinking?

15.3%

of Mississippi high schoolers drink soda two or more times a day

roughly double the 7.5% national average

2023 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System

24–30 grams

of added sugar in a single 8-ounce serving of regular soda — more than half a child's entire recommended daily added-sugar limit, in one drink.

Many sodas are sold in 12- or 20-ounce servings — meaning one drink can blow past a child's full daily sugar allowance before a single meal is eaten.

What This Sugar Does — Body, Teeth & Behavior

Weight & Metabolic Risk

Drives the obesity and elevated health risk already documented in Delta elementary schools, setting kids up for early insulin resistance.

Type 2 Diabetes Surge

Mississippi providers report a 30–40% jump in youth type 2 diabetes diagnoses since 2021 — one doctor saw 100+ new cases in a single summer.

Cavities Before Kindergarten

A study of 346 Delta preschoolers found early childhood cavities to be a major, ongoing problem tied closely to sugar exposure.

Behavior, Mood & Attention

Frequent soda drinking is linked to aggression, withdrawal, and attention problems — often mistaken for “a bad day.”

Why Bolivar County Kids Are Especially Exposed

Food Desert Geography

Mound Bayou, Shelby, and Winstonville have no grocery store — sugary, shelf-stable snacks fill the gap between trips to Cleveland or Clarksdale.

Poverty & Food Insufficiency

Sugary-drink consumption climbs sharply in lower-income households and homes with less reliable food access.

Racial Disparity

Black children in Mississippi show obesity/overweight rates roughly 18 points higher than white peers.

Limited Safe Places to Play

Cracked or missing sidewalks and long distances to trails make it harder for kids to stay active.

What's Already Helping

Smart Snacks in School

A federal standard limits the sugar in snacks sold at school — consistent enforcement helps offset what's available at home.

School Water Access

Research shows that better access to drinking water at school measurably reduces how much soda kids drink.

District Health Councils

Every Mississippi district must have one — parent participation directly shapes what's sold and served to our kids.

What We Can Do Together

Nearly half of Delta elementary kids are already overweight or obese — this is a community-wide pattern, not one family's failing.

One can of soda can carry more added sugar than a child should have in an entire day.

Sugar shows up in cavities before kindergarten, and in aggression or trouble focusing that gets mistaken for “a bad mood.”

Help already exists: the free MEND program at Delta Health Center in Mound Bayou is built for exactly this age group.

Talk to us tonight about enrolling your child in MEND.

Thank You

Questions? We're glad to talk after the meeting.

Follow the Money — A Community Briefing

A COMMUNITY BRIEFING

Follow the Money

What the NEA's Own Federal Filings Show About Spending & School Policy

Sourced from U.S. Department of Labor union financial disclosures (LM-2), NEA's own publications, and independent reporting.

What We'll Cover Tonight

The NEA at a glance

Who they are, what they collect

Policy on gender identity in schools

Resolutions, guides, and model legislation

Where the dues money goes

The 2024 federal spending breakdown

What NEA & its supporters say

The other side of the argument

Political spending, by the numbers

PACs, ballot measures, and outside groups

Questions worth asking locally

How to look up your own state affiliate

The NEA at a Glance

The National Education Association is the largest labor union in the United States and holds a unique federal charter, granted by Congress in 1906.

3 Million+

Members nationwide

$381M+

Collected in member dues, 2024

$432M+

Total spending, 2024

395,327

Members lost since 2009 peak (12%+ decline)

Where Did the Money Go in 2024?

Share of NEA's $432M+ in total 2024 spending, by category

39%

18%

34%

Teacher
Representation Political Activity
& Contributions Staff Salaries
& Benefits Overhead, Admin
& Affiliate Grants

Just 9% went to the union's core purpose — representing teachers.

Where the Political Dollars Went

Selected 2024 disbursements reported on NEA's federal LM-2 filing

NEA Advocacy Fund The union's own super PAC $18.9M

Ballot initiative campaigns Nationwide, across multiple states $9.9M

For Our Future Action Fund Self-described progressive advocacy group $3.5M

America Works USA “Promote progressive policy” (per its mission statement) $1.1M

Future Forward Described by the New York Times as Kamala Harris's “main allied group” $500K

Center for American Progress Progressive policy institute $500K

A ONE-SIDED LEDGER

$22.7 Million

in disclosed NEA political contributions during the 2024 election cycle

~98%

to Democratic candidates & committees

~2%

to Republican candidates & committees

PART TWO

Policy on Gender Identity in Schools

NEA Action on Gender Identity Policy

A timeline of resolutions, guides, and model legislation

2015

“Schools in Transition” guide

Co-authored with the ACLU, Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Lesbian Rights & Gender Spectrum — guidance for K-12 schools on supporting transgender students.

2021

New Business Item 5 — $47,000

Funds affiliates and members on the “dangers of anti-transgender legislation” targeting youth sports and gender-affirming care.

2022

New Business Item 15 — $140,000

Funds a research effort to identify groups “actively working to diminish…freedom of sexual and gender identity.” Not published for public review like other items.

Ongoing

Model legislation & legal guidance

NEA circulates model bill language for LGBTQ+-inclusive curriculum mandates and legal guidance for districts on transgender student rights.

Inside the “Schools in Transition” Guide

Published 2015 by NEA, ACLU, Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Lesbian Rights & Gender Spectrum

What the guide recommends

Schools generally should not disclose a student's gender transition to parents without the student's consent, in some circumstances
Transgender students should room with peers matching their gender identity on overnight school trips
Schools should let students use facilities and be addressed consistent with their gender identity

How it's argued, both ways

Critics: this cuts parents out of decisions about their own children and normalizes transition without family involvement
NEA & co-authors: the guidance is meant to protect student safety and privacy consistent with anti-discrimination law
The guide has no legal force on its own — individual districts decide whether to adopt any of it

The “Enemies List” Controversy

New Business Item 15, adopted at NEA's 2022 Representative Assembly

$140,000

approved to research and publicize groups NEA identified as working against its position on gender identity in schools

The item's stated purpose: identify groups “actively working to diminish a student's right to honesty in education, freedom of sexual and gender identity, and teacher autonomy.”
Unlike most New Business Items, NBI 15 was not published on NEA's website for public review — something critics said shielded it from scrutiny.
Four U.S. Senators — Marsha Blackburn, Cynthia Lummis, Steve Daines, and James Lankford — sent NEA a formal letter demanding an explanation of the plan.

What NEA & Its Supporters Say

A fair briefing includes the other side of the argument

Political spending is normal union activity

Federal law protects unions' right to lobby and organize politically on behalf of pay, benefits, and public education funding — NEA is far from unique among labor unions in this.

Not all of it is “waste”

An independent analysis (The 74) of NEA's 2021-22 filing found roughly a third of dues funded direct bargaining support (UniServ grants) to state/local affiliates — real member services, not politics.

Framed as safety & legal compliance

NEA presents its gender-identity guidance as compliance with anti-discrimination law (Title IX, Bostock v. Clayton County) and student-safety best practice, not indoctrination.

Dues objections have a legal remedy

In many states, members can object to the political share of their dues under “Beck rights” and pay a reduced, representation-only fee.

Questions Worth Asking Locally

Practical next steps for parents & community members

Look up the filing yourself

Every union's LM-2 is public at the U.S. Dept. of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (olms.dol.gov) — including your state and local affiliates, not just NEA national.

Ask about local adoption

Ask your school board whether it has adopted any NEA model policy language on gender identity, and what your district's own policy actually says.

Follow the Representative Assembly

State and national New Business Items are often published for members and the public — ask your local affiliate how to follow them.

Remember the local distinction

Most classroom teachers have no vote in NEA's national spending decisions — a useful distinction to keep in mind when talking with your child's teacher.

Sources

National Education Association sees teacher exodus as political spending balloons — Illinois Policy Institute (Dec. 2024), analysis of NEA's 2024 LM-2 federal filing
Teachers' union once again spends more $ on politics than representation — Center of the American Experiment (Feb. 2023), NEA 2021-22 LM-2 filing
The NEA Collects $375 Million in Annual Dues. Here's Where the Money Goes — Mike Antonucci, The 74 (Dec. 2022)
National Education Assn Profile & NEA Advocacy Fund PAC data — OpenSecrets.org
Blackburn Blasts NEA For Creating “Enemies List” That May Target Concerned Parents — Office of Sen. Marsha Blackburn (2022)
Schools in Transition: A Guide to Supporting Transgender Students in K-12 Schools — NEA, ACLU, HRC, NCLR, Gender Spectrum (2015); ACLU.org
NEA LGBTQ+ Resources, LGBTQ+ Support & Protection, Legal Guidance on Transgender Students' Rights — NEA.org
Teacher unions and the sexualization of children; Union advises teachers to hide information from parents — OCPA Think
NEA's “Schools in Transition” Guide Instructs Teachers to Encourage Transgenderism in the Classroom — Freedom Foundation

The Price of Politics — A Community Briefing

A COMMUNITY BRIEFING

The Price of Politics

How the National Education Association spends its dues — and what kids and teachers are losing

Sourced from U.S. Department of Labor financial disclosures (LM-2), and independent analysis by Illinois Policy

THE BOTTOM LINE

10%

of NEA's $450 million in 2025 spending went to representing teachers — the union's core purpose.

The Better Business Bureau's standard for charity accountability calls for nonprofits to spend at least 65% of their budget on their actual mission.

Nearly 4X More on Politics Than Teachers

NEA's disclosed 2025 spending, by category

Politics & Contributions

$175M

Representing Teachers

$46M

$175M

spent on politics & contributions — 39% of total spending

$46M

spent representing teachers — just 10% of total spending

Follow the Political Money

Where NEA's political disbursements landed in 2025

NEA Advocacy Fund The union's own super PAC $8.6M

Ballot initiative campaigns Nationwide, across multiple states $19.9M

For Our Future Action Fund Self-described “progressive power” group $1.8M

Midwest Academy Trains organizers for “progressive change” $460K

Democracy Alliance Advances “progressive policy reforms” $310K

America Votes “Coordination hub” for progressive groups $300K

Sixteen Thirty Fund Empowers “progressive changemakers” $300K

MONEY WITHOUT BORDERS

$3.5 Million

of NEA's “contributions, gifts and grants” went to entities outside the United States — with little public explanation of what it funded.

Meanwhile, Teacher Pay Lags Behind

A tale of two paychecks in 2025

AVERAGE ILLINOIS TEACHER

<$79,000

Average classroom teacher salary in Illinois, per Illinois Report Card data cited by Illinois Policy.

NEA PRESIDENT REBECCA PRINGLE

$514,755

A 7% raise over her 2024 salary — more than 6X the average Illinois teacher's pay.

NEA's Six-Figure Club

How NEA pays its own officers and staff, 2025

482

staff earned $100,000 or more

110

staff earned $200,000 or more

$91M+

total spent on officer & staff salaries — up 18% from 2024

Millions in Travel, No Clear Explanation

NEA's 2025 spending on hotels, airlines, car rentals and more

$17M+

spent on airlines, car rentals, caterers, hotels, rail travel and travel agencies

$5.5M

of that travel spending was logged with no stated business purpose

WHAT NEA WAS CHARTERED TO DO

“Elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching… promote the cause of education in the United States.”

— NEA's stated purpose under its 1906 federal charter

By its own 2025 financial disclosures, that's no longer where most of the money goes.

The Trade-Off for Every Dues-Paying Member

Every dollar spent on politics is a dollar not spent on:

Representing teachers

In contract negotiations, grievances and workplace advocacy — the union's core function.

Classroom resources & professional support

Materials, training and support that reach teachers and students directly.

Keeping dues focused on the profession

Rather than funding national political campaigns and advocacy groups unrelated to any single classroom.

Questions Worth Asking Locally

Ways to take this conversation further in our own community

Ask your local affiliate what share of your dues funds political spending versus direct representation.

Request a copy of NEA's public LM-2 filing — it's a matter of public record.

Compare what your dues fund nationally to what your local schools and teachers actually need.

Raise it at your next local association meeting or with your state affiliate.

Sources

“National Education Association spends on politics over teachers,” Mailee Smith, Illinois Policy, Dec. 22, 2025.
National Education Association, 2025 LM-2 filing, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards (olmsapps.dol.gov).
Average Illinois teacher salary figure, Illinois Report Card, as cited in the Illinois Policy analysis.
BBB Standards for Charity Accountability, give.org, Better Business Bureau.