Every year, students in Seton Hill’s dietetics students travel to Washington, D.C. to advocate for nutrition policy issues and for registered dietitians.

This year, the students met with Congressman Tim Murphy (18th District PA) to discuss a variety of topics, including:

• Funding of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and revisions to food allotments to promote the purchase of more healthful foods by SNAP users.
• Support of the Older Americans Act to ensure that Pennsylvania's elderly are receiving essential services, including health care and nutritious meals.
• The Preventing Diabetes Act and Treat and Reduce Obesity Act, and how registered dietitians play an essential role in the prevention of chronic disease by providing evidenced-based intensive behavioral therapy to patients.

“The students connected their presentations with personal anecdotes from their experiences working in organizations in the Congressman's district,” said Ashley Roth, M.S., R.D., L.D.N., adjunct faculty in Seton Hill’s Coordinated Program in Nutrition and Dietetics, who led the trip. “As part of their supervised practice this semester, students have worked with organizations that include Woman, Infants, Children (WIC), Head Start & Early Head start, and Area Agency on Aging.”

While in the D.C. area, students also visited the United Fresh Produce Association, a trade organization of fruit and vegetable growers, suppliers and retailers, and toured pioneering research institutions, including the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Human Research Center, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, and National Library of Medicine.