LetsMove.gov

In the heart of New York City, Mt. Carmel-Holy Rosary School is as a beacon of hope for the communities of East Harlem. The Catholic school serves 280 students in Pre-K through 8th grade, and one hundred percent of students qualify for Free Lunch in the National School Lunch Program. According to the New York City Department of Health, more than 4 in 10 elementary school children in East and Central Harlem are overweight or obese. East Harlem currently has the highest rate of childhood asthma hospitalizations in New York City, and over 25% of the area’s children suffer from the condition. Principal Suzanne Kaszynski is taking big strides to address those trends with MyPlate, USDA’s new food icon, in a school-wide effort to prevent childhood obesity and long-term risks for chronic disease.  

Following the release of the MyPlate icon, Helen Butleroff-Leahy, a former Rockette and registered dietitian, launched “MYPLATE! The New Food Guide Musical Program” to teach kids about healthy eating at Mt. Carmel-Holy. Students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade have been learning about active, nutritious lifestyles in the classroom while rehearsing for Butleroff-Leahy’s original, MyPlate-inspired school musical., Students learn about making healthy choices through dance routines and participate in exercise through musical theater. Each dance number corresponds to a different color on MyPlate and is narrated with interesting facts about the food groups. Joined by professional Broadway actors, the students perform for the entire Mt. Carmel-Holy Rosary School family, including parents and faculty members, as a school-wide educational initiative to inform all students on how to nourish their minds and bodies.

The musical is one of many ways that Mt. Carmel-Holy Rosary is engaging parents, families, and the Harlem community in healthy lifestyles. The school serves healthy snacks daily, such as fresh fruit and carrot sticks. Students learn the importance of physical activity as they trained weekly in East Harlem’s Jefferson Park to prepare for The Ronald McDonald Fun Run in Central Park. In a visit to Green Meadows Farm in Queens, Pre-K and Kindergarten students learned about growing food, raising animals, and even milked the dairy cows. As a supporter of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Faith and Communities, the school is a great example of how faith-based and neighborhood organizations can lead the way to raise a healthier generation of kids.

Questions about this story? Contact Eleanor Killian at Ekillian@mchrschool.org.

To learn more about Let’s Move Faith and Communities, visit www.letsmove.gov/communities and sign up to join our network of supporters!

First Lady Michelle Obama participates in a running event during the “Getting Active is Fun” event at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando Florida, during the First Lady’s tour celebrating the second anniversary of the “Let’s Move!” initiative. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

Back when we first launched Let's Move! -- a nationwide initiative to end our childhood obesity epidemic -- in the back of my mind, I wondered whether it was really possible to make a difference.

I knew how serious this problem is. Nearly one in three of our children are overweight or obese, at risk for illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer that cost our economy billions of dollars each year to treat.

I also knew the conventional wisdom on this issue. There's the assumption that kids don't like healthy food, so why try to feed it to them? There's the belief that healthy food doesn't sell as well, so companies will never change the products they offer. And there's the sense that this problem is so big and entrenched that no matter what we do, we'll never be able to solve it. 

But over the past two years, we have seen a new conversation in this country about how we live and eat and how that affects the health and well-being of our kids. Since we launched Let's Move!, people from every corner of this country who care about our children's futures have stepped up and proved the conventional wisdom wrong.

Read the entire op-ed from the First Lady at CNN.com

More from the Let's Move tour:
Michelle Obama: If You Are Doing Great Work, Tell Me About It 
Michelle Obama Judges "Top Chef"
On the Road with Let’s Move
Watch: Behind the Scenes on the Let’s Move Tour 
Two Years of Healthy Changes for Our Nation’s Kids

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In Iowa, she danced the Interlude and in Orlando, she did the Platypus Walk. First Lady Michelle Obama led a crowd of Florida schoolchildren and Disney stars in a dance inspired by the cartoon "Phineas and Ferb" during a Let's Move event at ESPN's Wide World of Sports on the third and final day of the Let's Move Birthday tour. Check it out:  

More from the Let's Move tour:
Michelle Obama: If You Are Doing Great Work, Tell Me About It 
Michelle Obama Judges "Top Chef"
On the Road with Let’s Move
Watch: Behind the Scenes on the Let’s Move Tour 
Two Years of Healthy Changes for Our Nation’s Kids

On the third and final day of her Let's Move 2nd Birthday tour, First Lady Michelle Obama visited Northland Church in Orlando, Florida to thank faith and community leaders from 120 congregations and organizations who represented15 different faiths and denominations. Mrs Obama praised the group, and their congregations, for their tireless efforts in helping fulfull the core mission of the initiative: eliminating childhood obesity in a generation. 

First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks to a gathering of 3,000 people of diverse faiths about the work of faith and community organizations across America to support healthy lifestyles. The “Faith and Community Groups Leading the Way” event was held at Northland, A Church Distributed, in Longwood, Florida during the First Lady’s tour celebrating second anniversary of the “Let’s Move!” initiative. Feb. 11, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy) 

The First Lady talked about the emotional role food plays in our lives, acknowledging that it is more than just nourishment for our bodies, it's how we knit our families and our communities together. But, she told the assembly, finding ways to honor these traditions while making healthy changes is the essence of what Let's Move is working to do:

We know that government doesn’t have all the answers; know that there’s no one-size-fits all program or policy that will solve this problem.  Every family and every community is different.  Each of us needs to make the changes that fit with our budgets, our beliefs, and our tastes. 

Mrs. Obama called on the group of leaders as role models to children, reminding them that if they get excited about this mission, then kids will embrace it as well. And in an effort to celebrate the great work that faith and community groups have already done to promote healthy lifestyle changes, the First Lady announced a new Let's Move video challenge, telling the crowd, "whatever you do, I want to know about it."

You can watch Michelle Obama's entire speech below:

More from the Let's Move tour:
Watch: More Dancing with the First Lady on the Let's Move Birthday Tour 
Michelle Obama Judges "Top Chef"
On the Road with Let’s Move
Watch: Behind the Scenes on the Let’s Move Tour 
Two Years of Healthy Changes for Our Nation’s Kids

Today, First Lady Michelle Obama announced the Communities on the Move video challenge! Your faith-based or community group is invited to create an inspiring video about your efforts to reverse the trend of childhood obesity. The challenge recognizes community efforts that promote healthy lifestyles for kids in three areas: by encouraging nutritious eating through USDA’s MyPlate icon, increasing physical activity, and by ensuring access to healthy, affordable foods.

“America’s faith communities play a crucial role in guiding and strengthening not only our spiritual health, but our emotional and physical health as well,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. “Over the past two years, I’ve been inspired by all of the faith leaders and congregations who have taken action to get active and eat healthier, and so we’re launching our Let’s Move! video contest to highlight some of the best examples.  I know there’s so much incredible work being done – and I can’t wait to hear some of these stories first-hand at the White House.”

The video challenge is an opportunity share your community’s story or to inspire your community to begin writing one! Tell us about how you are empowering families, congregations, and communities to make better choices to improve the health of our nation’s children. Winners will be invited to Washington, D.C. for a Let’s Move! event where they will have a special opportunity to showcase their video.

To help you get started, we’ve put together a Toolkit that Community Toolkit that has simple messages you can communicate to energize your community and organize others to join you. It’s also filled with stories of how people across the country have been moving towards a healthier future.  

For example, despite limited resources and budget constraints, Mt. Carmel-Holy Rosary School is teaching students about healthy eating through MyPlate. Under the instruction of a registered dietitian, Mt. Carmel-Holy Rosary has turned in-class nutrition lessons into a school musical! Just a few years ago, this small Catholic school in East Harlem nearly closed due to declining enrollment and inadequate funding, but its principal led a community-wide effort to revitalize the school by recruiting high caliber teachers, developing a plethora of enrichment programs, and creating a positive, family-oriented school culture.The school is now an exemplary educational institution championing a school wellness in exciting, creative ways.

Be sure to check out more Let’s Move Faith and Communities success stories for how for more ideas on getting active, healthy eating, and making healthy food affordable and accessible to your community. The Communities on the Move video challenge is a part of Let’s Move Faith and Communities, launched by First Lady Michelle Obama to engage faith-based and community organizations in Let’s Move! to raise a healthier generation of kids.  To sign up for our network of supporters, visit us online.

First Lady Michelle Obama was joined by some famous faces on the second day of the Let’s Move birthday tour. A group of former “Top Chef” winners came out to a Dallas recreation center for a new kind of Quick Fire challenge: make a quick, kid-friendly lunch inspired by the new school lunch standards unveiled earlier this month.

The chefs paired off into three groups -- each assisted by a sous chef from a Dallas elementary school and a Dallas Cowboy -- and after thirty minutes they presented their work to a trio of tough judges: Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio, Let’s Move’s Senior Policy Advisor Sam Kass and First Lady Michelle Obama.

The Red Team, with chefs Paul Qui and Grayson Schmitz, assisted by DeMarcus Ware, prepared a kid-friendly combo of whole wheat turkey tacos with a pureed melon juice. The White Team partnered chefs Spike Mendelsohn and Jennifer Carrol with Cowboy Miles Austin, who whipped up a classic combo of pork chops, homemade applesauce and roasted sweet potatoes. Blue Team chefs Fabio Viviano and Richard Blaise had two Cowboys on their side, as Felix Jones and DeMarco Murray helped them put together a colorful farro salad that featured feta, tomato and carrots simmered in fresh carrot juice. (Stay tuned, because the chefs have promised to share the recipes with Let’s Move!)

After careful consideration, the judges announced a Top Chef first: all three teams tied. The reason, Mrs Obama explained to the crowd,  is that when you pair great chefs with schools, "everybody wins."

The First Lady then announced an expansion of the Chefs Move to Schools initiative, which helps connect chefs with schools in their community to educate children about healthy food choices through cooking lessons, planting gardens and other activities. Approximately 3,400 chefs and 3,350 schools have signed up for Chefs Move to Schools.

Mrs. Obama also unveiled the new Chefs Move to Schools website, www.chefsmovetoschools.org, a one-stop shop for chefs and schools, where they can sign up for the program; access training, recipes and resources; and learn how chefs and schools across the country are partnering to create a healthier school environment.

The next stop on the Let’s Move tour is Miami, where the First Lady will participate in a Town Hall conversation sponsored by WebMD.

Learn more about the Let's Move! birthday tour:

• Day 1: On the Road with Let's Move
• 42 Healthy and Kid-Friendly Recipes to Try at Home
• Watch: Behind the Scenes on the Let's Move Tour

Be there for all the fun as First Lady Michelle Obama leads a crowd of 14,000 Iowa students in the "Interlude" dance, on the first day of her three day, four state tour to celebrate the second birthday of Let's Move!

To celebrate the second anniversary of Let's Move!, First Lady Michelle Obama is on a three day, four state tour, visiting people across the country whose lives have been impacted by her signature initiative.

First stop was Des Moines, Iowa where more than 14,000 students gathered to join Governor Terry Branstad as he declared February 9, 2012  Let's Move! Day in Iowa. The energy in the Wells Fargo Arena was electric, as Olympians Michelle Kwan and Shawn Johnson talked to the crowd of students waving "Let's Get Moving" signs about how eating healthy had helped them achieve their dreams. 

First Lady Michelle Obama participates in an event highlighting Iowa’s Healthiest State Initiative at the start of her tour celebrating the second anniversary of Let’s Move!, at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 9, 2012.

Mrs. Obama said she she was in Iowa to celebrate the state's bold ambitions:

We could have had this party anywhere in the country, right?  We could have gone anywhere, but there is a reason why we wanted to come here to Iowa to be with all of you. And that’s because I am so proud of what you all are doing to make Iowa the healthiest state in this country by 2016.

I am proud that you guys are starting community gardens, that you’re eating your fruits and vegetables.  I’m proud that you guys are walking to school instead of taking the bus.  I’m proud that you’re working hard to get that 60 minutes of activity a day, every day.  I’m also proud of your government, and businesses like Hy-Vee, and community leaders across the state who are all coming together to help you guys get healthy, to keep moving. 

This is exactly what "Let’s Move" is all about.  We want every single state in this country to do exactly what Iowa is doing. 

Before the whole audience joined in singing "Happy Birthday" to Let's Move!, the First Lady led the crowd in dancing  the "Interlude" -- which originated at the University of Northern Iowa.

Next stop for the Let's Move! team was the Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas where Mrs. Obama announced a groundbreaking commitment being made by the Department of Defense to secure the health of our troops and their families: For the first time in 20 years, the DOD is updating their nutritional standards to include more fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats,and  low-fat dairy products with every meal.

First Lady Michelle Obama receives a briefing on the Air Force’s healthy eating efforts while visiting Little Rock Air Force Base, Little Rock, Ark., during a tour celebrating the second anniversary of Let’s Move!,  Feb. 9, 2012.

The First Lady praised the military leadership for being role models in the fight to improve our nation's health:

And I want to emphasize that in doing so, you're not just sending a powerful message throughout the military community.  You're sending a message to our entire country.  And that's one of the reasons I wanted to be here, because whenever our men and women in uniform step forward, America takes notice.  We are all inspired by your courage.  We are all inspired by your service and your sacrifice.

So when you make healthy eating a priority in your lives, the rest of us are more likely to make it a priority in our lives.

Mrs. Obama ended her day at an Olive Garden in Fort Worth, Texas, where she met with local parents who shared their concerns about raising healthy children as they sampled some of the healthy menu options from the popular chain, whose parent company, Darden Restaurants, has made a commitment to reduce calories and sodium in their meals and to provide healthier options in their kids’ menus.

The Let's Move! birthday tour continues tomorrow morning in Dallas, with a Chef's Move to Schools event with local students.

Making healthy meals at home doesn’t mean you have to serve up the same old dish every night. Introducing new, nutritious foods in lunchboxes and at the dinner table is easy—and changing things up is a great way to get kids excited about eating healthy. After all, parents and care-givers not only play a key role in making healthy choices for children, they also help children learn to make healthy choices for themselves

We’ve picked out some of our favorite recipes for easy, kid-approved meals and snacks that incorporate fresh, nutrition-rich foods. Whether you’re packing lunches, whipping up dinner, or prepping a quick after-school snack, try out something new from our list below.

Lunch Recipes:

• Chopped Green Salad with Herb Dressing
• Fiesta Wrap
• Roasted Fish Crispy Slaw Wrap
• Greek Salad Pita Sandwiches
• Crunchy Hawaiian Chicken Wrap
• Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
• Confetti Soup
• Porcupine Sliders
• “I Made It Myself” Pizza
• Turkey Wrap with Lemony Hummus & Cheese
• Romaine Lettuce Roll-Ups
• Carrot Apple Soup
• Chicken Tender Salad
• Lunch Box "Fun"-due
• Curry Chicken Salad
• Mini Meatball & Orzo Soup
• Chicken Taco Soup

• Mac-N-Cheese Muffin Surprise

Dinner Recipes:

• Fall Harvest and Grilled Garden Pizza
• Chicken Alfredo with a Twist
• Spanish Chickpea Stew
• Stir-Fry Fajita Chicken, Squash & Corn
• Chic’ Penne
• Tuscan Smoked Turkey & Bean Soup
• Lentils of the Southwest
• Turkey Lasagna with Spinach

• Balsamic & Fig Glazed Pear-Topped Chicken Breast

Snack Recipes:

• Roasted Apples with Bleu Cheese
• Central Valley Harvest Bake
• Tasty Tots
• Pear-Cranberry Cobblers
• Peanut Butter Berry-Wich
• Easy Fruit Pie Pockets
• Smashed Apples
• Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
• Strawberry Banana Smoothie
• Pumpkin Loaf with Raisins & Dried Cherries
• Parmesan Yogurt Dip with Carrots
• Orange Cranberry Seltzer
• Banana Sushi

• Sweet Potato Bread Pudding

Let’s Move! aims to increase opportunities for kids to be physically active, both in and out of school and to create new opportunities for families to move together.

For kids and teens (that’s anyone between 6 and 17 years), your goals are:

• Physical activity: You need to be active 60 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week, for 6 out of 8 weeks. As an alternative, you can count your daily activity steps using a pedometer (girls’ goal: 11,000; boys’ goal: 13,000).
• Healthy eating: Each week, you’ll also focus on a healthy eating goal. There are eight to choose from, and each week you will add a new goal while continuing with your previous goals. By the end of the six weeks, you’ll be giving your body more of the good stuff it needs.

For adults (that’s anyone aged 18 and older), your goals are:

• Physical activity: You need to be active 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week, for 6 out of 8 weeks. As an alternative, you can count your daily activity steps using a pedometer (goal: 8,500).
• Healthy eating: Each week, you’ll also focus on a healthy eating goal. There are eight to choose from, and each week you will add a new goal while continuing with your previous goals. By the end of the six weeks, you’ll be giving your body more of the good stuff it needs.

Resources: 

Sign up for the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award Challenge

Top 10 President's Challenge Activities

10 Ideas for Staying Active

10 Tips To Healthy Eating and Physical Activity For You

Information About Exercise and Weight Control

With inspiration from the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative and support from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, six church congregations in the city of Seattle, Washington have begun a journey to wholeheartedly improve their church members’ physical well-being and spiritual health.  Together, these six churches reach more than 9,000 predominantly African American Seattle community members, and they are each working under the belief that their proactive community health and wellness initiatives will result in healthier and stronger congregations and neighborhoods– in body and spirit.  As it stands, nearly 59 percent of King County adults are overweight or obese, with obesity rates reaching disproportionately high levels among the county’s African Americans.

Under the “Moving Together in Faith & Health” program all six churches involved have put wellness policies in place that aim to correct this reality.  They’ve made changes like ensuring more healthy food and beverage options are offered at church events, planting church gardens, encouraging group walking, and introducing limits on time spent in front of computers and televisions at child and teen church programs.

An important aspect of the churches’ collective strategy is their focus on fostering wider neighborhood ties.  For example, they have dedicated themselves to hosting the Seattle Wholesale Market, not only to provide nutritious foods to their congregations, but also to directly connect community restaurants, stores, hospitals, and schools with local farmers for an even broader impact on the health of their parishioners.

 “I encourage all the churches in the community to take up this fight with us,” said Rev. Aaron Williams, senior pastor of Mount Zion Baptist in Seattle. “If we are going to tackle this giant of chronic diseases and obesity, it’s going to take the whole village to do it.”  This is a shining example of the many local, faith based health initiatives growing across the country, prioritizing healthy living for Americans in their places of worship and community engagement.

Dr. Rebecca Bunnell, ScD, Med, is the Program Director, Communities Putting Prevention to Work

First Lady Michelle Obama today announced a new a national competition that will identify and reward the most creative, impactful, and scalable school-based programs and technological innovations that promote physical activity for children.

Sponsored by the Active Schools Acceleration Project (ASAP) in collaboration with the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), the contest will award a total of $500,000 in prizes, with individual awards of up to $100,000. Top winners will participate in funded pilot studies aimed at expanding the reach and impact of the projects.

“We know there’s so much good work going on all across this country to get our kids up and moving every single day,” said Mrs. Obama. “So we want to find the best school programs and technology ideas that increase physical activity for kids – and then help them reach even more children throughout America.”

The competition has two categories: “School Programs” and “Technology Innovation.” Teachers, schools, or even entire districts are encouraged to submit their in-school physical activity programs --from curriculums, environmental modifications, events, or other initiatives that promote quality school-time physical activity -- in the “School Programs” category. 

Winners in the “Technology Innovation” category will demonstrate how an existing or emerging technology can be used to inspire kids to be physically active. This can include tracking and measurement systems, software applications, innovative uses of social media, gaming, smart phones, and more.

 “TVs and computers can sometimes be an impediment to physical activity,” said the First Lady, “but we also know we can harness the power of technology to get our kids up and active.”

Find out more about the competition at www.ActiveSchoolsASAP.org.

Recipe courtesy of the White House Kitchen

The hardest part of this simple recipe is slicing the potatoes. Swap out some of the sweet spuds for carrots, and get an added boost of beta-carotene and carotenoids. Serve the fries with baby tomato ketchup for extra nutrients — and to avoid the sodium in store-bought brands.

Serving Size

Makes 6 servings

Cook Time

Preparation: 25 minutes

Bake: 25 minutes

Cool: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 lb. sweet potatoes and/or carrots
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 recipe Baby Tomato Ketchup, or your favorite ketchup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly brush a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with olive oil. Peel vegetables and cut into thin wedges that are 3 to 4 inches long. Toss vegetables with 2 teaspoons of oil. Place the vegetables on the prepared pan and roast them for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Transfer vegetables to a tray to cool until they can be handled (about 10 minutes).

2. While vegetables are cooling, in a shallow bowl, mix together the flour and salt. In another shallow bowl, combine eggs and water. In a third shallow bowl, stir together the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.

3. Coat the same baking pan with the 1 tablespoon oil. When the vegetables are cool enough to handle, dip them a few at time in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, then the bread crumbs, coating them evenly. Arrange coated vegetables in a single layer in the prepared pan.

4. Roast for 15 minutes or until vegetables are brown and crispy on surface. Serve warm with Baby Tomato Ketchup.

Tips

Crispy fries

The easy bread-crumb coating adds delicious crispy flavor without frying. These fries are high in vitamin A, potassium, and fiber. You can substitute carrots for the sweet potatoes.

Baby Tomato Ketchup for dipping

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place 3 cups grape tomatoes, 1/4 cup finely chopped onion, 1 Tbsp. cider vinegar, 2 tsp. packed brown sugar, and 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan and toss together. Roast, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes or until all tomato skins have burst and most of the liquid has evaporated, stirring every 10 minutes. Place in a food processor. Cover and process until smooth. Makes 1 1/4 cups ketchup.

Read more about how to "Eat Like the White House Eats."

See other recipes in this series:

Smashed Apples

Turkey Lasagna with Spinach

Easy Fruit Pocket Pies

"I Made It Myself" Pizza

Today, we’re holding a special session of White House Office Hours to celebrate the second anniversary of Let’s Move!, the First Lady’s initiative to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation. At 2:30 p.m. EST, Sam Kass, Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives, is answering your questions live on Twitter.

First Lady Michelle Obama, with chefs Todd Grey from Equinox, left, and Sam Kass, from the White House, gestures during a “Let’s Move!” event with hundreds of chefs from around the country on the South Lawn of the White House, June 4, 2010. The First Lady called on chefs to get involved by adopting a school and working with teachers, parents, school nutritionists and administrators to help educate kids about food and nutrition. June 4, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Join Sam for Office Hours at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, February 6th. Here's how it works:

• Ask your question on Twitter with the hashtag #WHChat
• Sam Kass, Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives, responds to your questions in real-time via Twitter from @LetsMove
• Follow the Q&A through the @WHLive Twitter account
• If you miss the live event, the full session will be posted on WhiteHouse.gov and Storify.com/WhiteHouse
• We hope you can join us! Follow us on Twitter @WhiteHouse, @WHLive and @LetsMove for the latest updates and more chances to engage.

Since launching Let’s Move! on February 9, 2010, significant progress has been made to solve the problem of childhood obesity. Parents, businesses, educators, elected officials, members of the military, chefs, physicians, athletes, childcare providers, community and faith leaders and kids themselves have made substantial commitments to improve the health of our nation’s children.

Later this week, First Lady Michelle Obama is hitting the road to kick off a three day, nation-wide tour celebrating the anniversary of Let’s Move!. The Let’s Move! tour will highlight examples of people making changes across the country, from a single family to an entire state. Learn more about the accomplishments of Let’s Move! here.

First Lady Michelle Obama joins students for a "Let's Move!" Salad Bars to Schools launch event at Riverside Elementary School in Miami, Fla., Nov. 22, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

Since launching Let’s Move! on February 9, 2010, significant progress has been made to solve the problem of childhood obesity. Parents, businesses, educators, elected officials, members of the military, chefs, physicians, athletes, childcare providers, community and faith leaders and kids themselves have made substantial commitments to improve the health of our nation’s children. Through working together with Let’s Move!,  these groups have provided children with healthier food and greater opportunities for physical activity in schools and communities, helped get families the information they need to make healthier decisions, supported a healthy start in early childhood, and have worked to ensure more people have access to healthy, affordable food.

Just some of the many accomplishments of Let’s Move! in the past two years include:

• In December 2010 President Obama signed into law the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, a groundbreaking piece of legislation, to help all kids have healthier food in school. In January 2012, USDA released new school meal regulations to update the quality of nutrition through the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs. Changes include ensuring kids are offered and served more fruits, vegetables and whole grains and less sodium, saturated fat and trans fats. 
• Walgreens, Supervalu, Walmart and several small grocers announced a commitment to build or expand 1,500 stores in communities with limited or no access to healthy food. The companies estimated that 9.5 million people who currently have limited access to nutritious food will now have healthy food in their neighborhoods and create thousands of jobs for local residents. In addition, the Fresh Works Fund committed 200 million dollars to eliminate food deserts in California.  
• Darden, the world’s largest full service restaurant company, which owns Olive Garden, Red Lobster and others, made a commitment to improve their kids menus by offering a fruit or vegetable and low-fat milk with every meal, as well as reduce total calories and sodium by 20% over the next 10 years across their menus. 
• We launched My Plate and Mi Plato – an easy to understand icon to help parents make the healthier choice for their families. Over 5,700 groups have partnered with the USDA to get simple nutritional information to families across the country. 
• We far exceeded our goal for one million people to complete the President’s Active Lifestyle Award in a year – and in one year alone 1.7 million Americans achieved their PALAs. 
• We exceeded our goal in the Healthier US School Challenge with over 1,500 schools meeting high standards in nutrition and fitness, and the list continues to grow.  
• Walmart’s Nutrition Charter committed to lowering the cost of fruits and vegetables as well as healthier options like whole grain products by 1 billion dollars in 2011. In addition, Walmart pledged to work with manufacturers to remove 10% sugar and 25% sodium in categories throughout the store. 
• The country’s largest food manufacturers pledged to cut 1.5 trillion calories from the market place by 2015 through their Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation.  
• The American Beverage Association committed to put clear calorie labels on the front of their products to give consumers better information.  
• We launched Let’s Move! Child Care to ensure that our youngest children are getting a healthy start. To date approximately 2,000 child care professionals and organizations have registered online to implement new criteria for nutrition, physical activity and limiting screen time. The Department of Defense, General Services Administration and Bright Horizons committed to implement new standards – that commitment represented over 2,000 centers serving nearly 300,000 children. 
• We launched Let’s Move! Museums and Gardens and more than 500 institutions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia have signed up to offer active exhibits and healthy food choices. 
• Let’s Move! Salad Bars to Schools has delivered over 1,000 salad bars to schools in the past year – making fruits and vegetables accessible to hundreds of thousands of kids. 
• Faith and community organizations have initiated a broad range of activities including logging over 1,500,000 miles walked and working to provide healthy food to their congregations.  
• We worked with the US Tennis Association to build or refurbish over 3,000 kid-sized tennis courts across the country and sign up over 250,000 kids to complete their PALAs. 
• Businesses stepped up to help schools meet their challenges, like All-Clad, which donated 1,000 cooking demonstration kits for chefs who are working to make schools healthier.

How about this for a healthy school lunch: a chef salad in a pocket alongside veggie dippers and fruit kebobs with honey yogurt dipping sauce. White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford shows CafeMom's Amy Boshnack how to make this fun and affordable school lunch that follows MyPlate nutritional guidelines.

White House Executive Chef (and mom) Cristeta Comerford crafted a healthy and affordable culinary creation that follows the MyPlate nutritonal guideline and shows Amy Boshnack from CafeMom's The Stir how to recreate it.

Veggie pasta, apple dippers with honey and milk--it's a healthy and affordable lunch following the MyPlate guidelines that White House Executive Chef, who is a mom herself, demonstrated for Amy Boshnack from CafeMom's The Stir.

Wednesday was a monumental day for kids, families, educators, administrators, food service workers and the advocates who have led the charge and worked hand in hand to deliver healthier, more nutritious food to our nation’s school children.

For the first time in over a decade, the federal government has made significant changes to school meals that will provide kids across the country with the nourishment they will need to flourish in school and in life.

We know that we would not be here without the leadership and dedication of school nutrition professionals from across the nation.

School systems across the country are on the front lines of nutrition, education and health. They are as diverse as America itself. But they share an unwavering commitment to the young people they serve. Implementing the new standards represents a mission that I know school food service professionals have embraced with passion and energy.

We know that healthy and nutritious school meals are just one important piece of the puzzle. It’s going to take all of us – parents, community leaders, business owners – to make sure our kids grow up healthy and strong.

Today First Lady Michelle Obama, Secretary Vilsack, and I want emphasize our gratitude for the educators, food service workers and advocates. Without their tireless efforts to improve school meals for all of our children this would not have been possible.

Caption: Celebrity chef Rachael Ray and school food service employees served one of her recipes of ground turkey tacos, Mexican brown rice and black bean and corn salad accompanied by mixed fruit at Parklawn Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday, January 25, 2012. Rachel Ray, First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited the school to speak with faculty and parents about the United States Department of Agriculture’s new and improved nutrition standards for school lunches. USDA Photo by Bob Nichols.

For families of all cultures, meals are often deeply rooted in tradition, with recipes passed down from generation to generation. At Let’s Move, we understand the importance of honoring those traditions while making choices that are healthy for everyone, especially children. As the First Lady said in Tampa on Thursday, “Food is love.”

But there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and the Hispanic community in particular faces unique challenges:  While one in three American children is overweight or obese, in the Hispanic community, it’s nearly two in five

That’s why yesterday’s announcement that Goya Foods—the largest, Hispanic-owned U.S. food company—has committed to promote MiPlato, the USDA’s educational tool that assists families in making healthy meal choices, is significant. Goya will be taking numerous steps to help communities enjoy healthier meals, from producing pamphlets and cookbooks that provide simple, nutritious recipes tailored for busy families to creating posters that feature smart nutrition tips. And in recognition that one big step towards making a healthy meal more attainable is making it more affordable, Goya will be distributing coupons through variety of national Hispanic associations and organizations.

The company will also be imprinting the MiPlato icon on products including black beans, pinto beans, white beans, chick peas, red kidney beans.  The colorful MiPlato icon was designed to educate parents and children on how to build a healthy plate by showing the proportions that should be filled with vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy products. Mrs Obama calls it “a framework that any family can use”:

Any culture can interpret the plate in a way that is true to their traditions. You just fill up half of the plate with fruits and vegetables, you start there, and you fill the rest of it with lean proteins, whole grains, low-fat dairy products.  It is just that simple.  You have the plate, you look at it, you fill it up -- you don't have to worry about measurements.  It's right there.

The Goya-produced materials will also be distributed by community organizations from Florida to California, and will be available at local churches, food pantries, promotores (community health workers) networks and from registered dietitians, and schools.  

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