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Let's Move Blog

Posted by Erin Edgerton on October 15, 2010
The National School Lunch Program provides nutritious meals to millions of American children and helps educate kids on making healthy choices early in life.  
Posted by Let's Move on October 15, 2010
A key part of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative to combat childhood obesity, the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) will help revitalize neighborhoods by eliminating “food deserts,” locations with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, within seven years. Food desert communities are typically served by inexpensive restaurants and convenience stores that offer little or no fresh food. A study by the U.S.
Posted by Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan on October 14, 2010
An integral part of the Let’s Move! initiative is gaining a critical boost when it comes to solving the challenge of childhood obesity and improving the health and nutrition of all Americans.  Today, USDA is proud to announce new investments that will help connect farms with families at the local level by providing grants to local farmers markets, producers, and farmers. Farmers markets across the country help families make the right choice when it comes to fresh produce and foods by bringing their harvest right to our communities.
Posted by Erin Edgerton on October 14, 2010
We’re continuing our celebration of National School Lunch Week with another easy and delicious recipe.  If you have a favorite lunch recipe, join the conversation on the Let’s Move! Facebook page and enter the Recipes for Healthy Kids competition.
Posted by Dr. Sophia Smith, MD on October 14, 2010
I recently attended a workshop held by the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) to educate pediatric health care providers about prescribing outdoor activities to children and families as part of their Children and Nature Initiative.  As a pediatrician working in Washington, DC, I see many patients that face chronic illness as a direct consequence of childhood obesity. Many of today’s children have become creatures of the indoors, spending countless hours in front of TV and computer screens, to the detriment of their physical and mental health.
Posted by Alan Shannon, Public Affairs Director, USDA/Food & Nutrition Service Midwest Region on October 13, 2010
Chicago has long been known as the City that Works. And a recent event related to the First Lady’s Chefs Move to Schools initiative proved that the city still lives up to its name.
Posted by Erin Edgerton on October 13, 2010
This week is the 65 anniversary of the National School Lunch Program, which has more than 31 million participating children and is aimed at preventing hunger and promoting education by providing students access to safe, balanced and affordable meals at school. 
Posted by Dr. Regina M. Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General on October 12, 2010
Since becoming Surgeon General, I’ve led fitness walks across the nation – from Baltimore to Los Angeles to the Grand Canyon. But it was a special treat for me when I traveled back to my home state of Alabama to lead a 1.2 mile walk in Mobile with more than 200 residents. 
Posted by Erin Edgerton on October 8, 2010
Getting 60 minutes of play every day is important and yesterday students from several Washington, DC elementary schools got their 60 minutes on the south lawn at the White House.  As part of the ongoing South Lawn Series, players from the DC United soccer team led the kids in drills and games, showing them just how fun exercise can be.  The students ran, jumped, kick soccer balls and ended the day with apples as a healthy snack. 
Posted by Shellie Pfohl, Executive Director, President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition on October 8, 2010
With all of the focus on promoting physical activity sometimes we forget that children don't always have a place to go. Throughout inner cities and other urban areas some children don't have access to playgrounds or other places to recreate.
Posted by Dr. Howard K. Koh, Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on October 7, 2010
Yesterday I joined a wonderful group of elementary school students, principals and school staff at Lincoln Park in Washington, DC to celebrate “International Walk to School Day”.  Now in its 13th year, this one-day event was part of a global effort in more than 40 countries to recognize the many benefits of walking and bicycling to school and to encourage more families to get out of the car and onto their feet in October.
Posted by Ray LaHood, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation on October 6, 2010
Today, I had the good fortune of joining students from East Silver Spring Elementary School in Maryland as they walked and biked to school in celebration of International Walk to School Day.  I want to thank Principal Morrow and the entire ESS community for welcoming me so enthusiastically.
Posted by Andrea Cernich on October 4, 2010
Getting our daily recommended physical activity (60 minutes/day for youth, 30 minutes/day for adults) is important – it’s important whether we live in the city, in the suburbs, or in a rural setting. It’s important whether we run fast or slow, whether we’re big, tall, short or small. And it’s important if we are able bodied or if we have a disability.
Posted by Andrea Cernich on October 4, 2010
Twenty years ago the neighborhood where Chicago's Eden Place Nature Center now sits lingered in pollution and lead poisoning caused by freight trains to the West, idling long hours next to their homes, and the Dan Ryan Expressway to the East, whose heavy volume of cars spewing leaded gas contributed to dense air and toxic soil for residents. Seeing residents become accustomed to the resulting health issues – including severe asthma and numerous tracheotomies, community activists decided the air pollution and illegal dumping on the vacant lots needed to stop.
Posted by Jon Jarvis, Director, National Park Service on September 30, 2010
Now that summer is over and school is back in full swing, kids have less free time - and more homework than they did a few months ago.  Fun in the sun at the beach, playing kickball with friends, and riding bicycles around the neighborhood, have been replaced by jam-packed routines that can make even the hardiest little adventurers beg for a nap.  But outdoor fun doesn’t have to end just because school work has begun!