July 22, 2011
THIS WEEKThis week, First Lady Michelle Obama announced commitments from major food retailers to open or expand over 1,500 stores to help provide healthy and affordable food to some of the over 23 million Americans – including 6.5 million children who don’t have easy access to fresh, nutritious food.
The First Lady spoke about the importance of ensuring parents have a choice when shopping for healthy food:
We needed to confront this problem head on. Because we can give people all of the information and advice in the world about healthy eating and exercise. We can talk all we want about calorie counts and recipes and how to serve balanced meals. But if parents can’t buy the food they need to prepare those meals, if their only options for groceries are in the corner gas station or the local minimart, then all that is just talk. It’s all just talk, and that is not what “Let’s Move” is about.
“Let’s Move” is about giving parents real choices about the food their kids are eating. And if a parent wants to pack a piece of fruit in a child’s lunch, if a parent wants to add some lettuce for a salad at dinner, they shouldn’t have to take three city buses, or pay some expensive taxi to go to another community to make that possible.
First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks in the East Room of the White House about commitments from major food retailers to provide access to healthy affordable food to millions of people in underserved communities across the country, July 20, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appelton)
Read more about this announcement or watch a video of this event.
GET ACTIVE TIP OF THE WEEK
Engaging in physical activity as a family can be a fun way to get everyone moving:
Try finding time to spend together doing a fun activity like family park day, swim day or bike day.
EAT HEALTHY OF THE WEEK
Small changes can make a huge difference and add up to real results:
Choose lean cuts of meat like skinless chicken or extra lean ground beef for hamburgers or pasta sauces.
WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FROM LET’S MOVE!
Spotlight: Young Leader Robert Hsu Plants Gardens and Works on Health Education in His Community
July 20, 2011
Robert, an 18 year-old from Nova, Michigan, is a youth health advocate who is focused on creating a healthier future for youth in his community. After living through his grandmother’s struggles with diabetes, Robert felt compelled to enable others to live healthier lives through education, awareness, and advocacy. He has improved his school’s cafeteria, created a health committee that never existed at his school before, helped to start and fund two gardens in his school district, and hosted a public forum on youth health.
A Church in Phoenix Opens Its Doors to Access Food
July 18, 2011
For families in Phoenix, Arizona, buying groceries through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) and putting needed nutrition assistance on the kitchen table just got a little easier. Thanks to Reverend Eve Nuñez, a new SNAP access location opened earlier this spring to assist Phoenix’s Hispanic community apply for SNAP. Through the Bureau of Indian Education Getting Serious About Health and Wellness in Indian Schools
July 18, 2011
Each year thousands of educators unite from around the country to attend the Bureau of Indian Education’s (BIE) Summer Institute, and this year was no exception: approximately 2,400 participants attended the annual event in Reno, Nevada from June 20-24, 2011. But something was a little different this year than in years past. In the past, the event focused completely on targeting core academic areas. This year, the BIE, decided to get serious about getting healthy in Indian Country by supporting the First Lady’s Let’s Move! in Indian Country Initiative.
Texas Hunger Initiative joins Let’s Move Faith and Communities to serve summer meals
July 15 ,2011
First Lady Michelle Obama has challenged community and faith leaders to combat hunger. One of her goals for Let’s Move Faith and Communities is to encourage these trusted leaders to start 1,000 Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sites where kids can gather for a healthy meal when school is out. That’s why the Texas Hunger Initiative (THI) joined Let’s Move Faith and Communities: to help folks serve meals to the one in four children in Texas who don’t get enough to eat every summer.
Twilight Series Actor, Chaske Spencer Blog on UNITY and Let’s Move! in Indian Country
July 15, 2011This weekend I attended the UNITY (United National Indian Tribal Youth) annual conference in Minneapolis, MN. It was an honor to be one of the speakers and to have the opportunity to talk about Lets Move! In Indian Country with the hundreds of Native youth who attended the conference. I first got involved with UNITY when I was about 15. It gave me a firmer foundation to achieve my goals, something that isn’t always readily available on the reservation.
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A Celebration of Women
Expanding Access to Healthy, Affordable Food – Let's Move!
July 22, 2011 by
