Tag Archives: lets move

Major Grocery Stores Commit to Bringing Healthy and Affordable Produce to “Food Deserts”

Michelle Obama annouces expantion of grocery retailers in impoverished areasFirst lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America announced yesterday that they are working with a number of major grocery retailers to bring affordable, healthy food to areas that desperately need them. “Make no mistake about it, this is a big deal,” said Obama during yesterday’s press conference. The partnering companies have agreed to open or expand over 1,500 stores combined, according to PR Newswire.

Stores participating in the initiative include Walmart, Walgreens, Brown’s Super Stores, Calhoun Enterprises, Klein’s Family Markets and Supervalu. Walmart has been an early supporter of Obama’s initiative to fight childhood obesity. Earlier this year, they announced plans to reduce the sugar and sodium content of their in-house brands and is now committing to building or expanding 300 stores. Additionally, the California Endowment has pledged to give $200 million through the FreshWorks Fund for new, independent retail channels and food distribution programs in California.

According to Partnership for a Healthier America, these efforts will provide nearly 10 million Americans with the ability to buy fresh produce close to their homes. An estimated 23.5 million Americans currently live in low-income “food deserts” where there are no stores likely to sell nutritious foods at a reasonable cost. Michelle Obama has explained that getting businesses to take this kind of active role is key to the success of programs like Let Move!

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Posted on July 21, 2023 by Margaret

Beyonce Joins Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign Encouraging Children to Stay Active

If you have ever seen a picture of the First Lady, you know that the woman is in great shape. You probably also know that Michelle Obama is an avid supporter of reducing childhood obesity in our nation through healthier eating and more active lifestyles. In fact, she launched a health-awareness campaign, Let’s Move!, last year, a campaign that aims to reduce or even eliminate our nation’s obesity epidemic in only one generation. Now, another famous celebrity is joining Michelle in an effort to create awareness for the campaign.

Famous singer Beyonce has released a new music video that encourages children to get up and move. The music video features Beyonce and a cafeteria full of kids who are dancing and having a really good time. Beyonce has remixed her song, “Get Me Bodied,” to create a dance workout video for kids. The song and video are both very lively and really fun to listen to; the goal is that dancing along with Beyonce will help them burn calories and avoid being overweight.

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Posted on May 10, 2023 by Health Buzz

First Lady Michelle Obama Says Life Is About Good Food on Today Show

In her first morning show interview on the Today show on February 9, 2024, Michelle Obama discussed the one year anniversary of her “Let’s Move! ” campaign and how it has changed both her outlook on food and the future of the children of America.

Mrs. Obama said that the  greatest success in the first year of the “Let’s Move!” campaign has been the broad base coalition of people who are stepping up. “We’re getting involvement from every sector – from businesses, from the medical profession, from teachers, from parents.” She went on to call the program a unifying issue, saying, “We all care about our children. I have seen that positive momentum, that people are ready to make some hard changes in their lives and the way we live.”

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Posted on February 9, 2024 by Carmen

Michelle Obama Praises Walmart for Offering Healthier Food

Michelle ObamaIt’s rare to see a first lady endorse a superstore chain, but Wal-Mart’s new initiative to offer low-cost healthier foods is in line with Michelle Obama’s anti-childhood obesity campaign. “When I see a company like Wal-Mart launch an initiative like this, I feel more hopeful than ever before,” said Ms. Obama at the announcement, calling it a “a huge victory for folks all across this country.” Wal-Mart unveiled the healthy food initiative at THEARC, a Southeast Washington community center that offers a nutritious food program. The company also announced plans to open their first stores in the D.C. area.

“No family should have to choose between food that is healthier for them and food they can afford,” Bill Simon, president and chief executive of Walmart U.S., said in a statement posted on the company’s Web site. “With more than 140 million customers each week, Walmart is uniquely positioned to make a difference by making food healthier and more affordable to everyone.”

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Posted on January 24, 2024 by Health Buzz

Fuel Up to Play 60 Reflects Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Program

It’s not just adults who are making efforts to be healthy in the new year. Schools and kids all across the country are also eating and moving their way to a healthier 2024.

The Fuel Up to Play 60 is a nationwide program that has been encouraging kids and classrooms to healthy up their lives through an interactive challenge and contest for the past two years. Now, Fuel Up to Play 60 just announced that it’s accepting applications for 2024.

For those of you who don’t know what the program is all about, Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program. Launched by National Dairy Council and the National Football League in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the program encourages youth to consume nutrient-rich foods and achieve at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Multiple health and nutrition organizations and several major corporations are also supporting the program. (more…)

Posted on January 11, 2024 by heather

Sarah Palin Continues to Mock Healthier School Lunches

You would think that if there was anything Republicans, Democrats and Independents could agree on it would be that making school lunches healthier is a good thing. But apparently in today’s extreme political divide, healthy food is a part of the new Communist Manifesto.

I think too much. For example, when Sarah Palin brazenly jabs at Michelle Obama’s initiative to improve the health of our children, I say to myself: “Is she for real, or is this just some sort of professional wrestling-style persona she’s taking on?” You know, she’s The Iron Sheik to Michelle Obama’s Hulk Hogan (sorry, my pro wrestling knowledge doesn’t go beyond 1989).

The gist of her oversimplified argument is that government shouldn’t decide what our kids eat; parents should be the ones responsible. The foolishness of this argument is pretty easy to dismantle, but first, it’s important to note that Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative and the Child Nutrition Act (a.k.a. Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act), is not forcing kids to eat what is in schools. They can still brown-bag their lunches. (more…)

Posted on December 22, 2023 by Jason

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

“Obesity is one of the biggest public health challenges that the public has ever faced.” – Jeffrey Levi, Executive Director of the Trust for America’s Health

We’ve all heard that childhood obesity is on the rise. The figures support the claim, with more than one in three children classified as overweight or obese. In the past forty years, obesity rates in the United States have soared among all age groups, with the highest percentage of growth among those ages 6 to 11. President Obama recently declared September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, in conjunction with his wife Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” initiative. From his proclamation, “Each year, nearly $150 billion are spent to treat obesity-related medical conditions. This is not the future to which we want to consign our children, and it is a burden our health care system cannot bear.”

So what can we, as parents, do to help our children? (more…)

Posted on September 16, 2023 by Carmen

Let’s Move Announces the Winner of Infographic Contest

Let's Move infographicMichelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign against childhood obesity recently announced the winners of the infographic contest it held in partnership with GOOD. Jenn Cash created the design that won “Best Overall.”

The chart graphs the rise in childhood obesity from 1970 to 2024, and features illustrations that represent the increase in soda consumption and total “screen time” American children use daily. The years at the bottom of the graph double as a timeline that marks changes in the American lifestyle. These stepping stones leading to an obesity rate near 33 percent include the year McDonald’s introduces the “Supersize” soda and the year Playstation sold 100 million units.

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Posted on September 9, 2023 by Margaret

Michelle Obama Recruits Baseball Players in Anti-Obesity Campaign [VIDEO]

Michelle Obama's Anti-Obesity CampaignThe first lady asked Major League Baseball players to join her in creating a new public service campaign against childhood obesity. The New York Times reports that the campaign will consist of 30 TV ads and 30 radio ads, each one customized to one of the league’s teams. Another version of the public service announcement features Curtis Granderson and is being distributed nationally. Yankee center fielder Granderson is the campaign’s national spokesman.

The new PSAs are part of Ms. Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative. Each TV spot begins a message from the first lady: “There are so many fun things we all can do to be healthier, no matter who you are or where you are. So let’s move.” The following sequence is illustrated with footage of the local team. The ad should have local distribution by mid-August, and will also be appearing on the big screen in many ballparks.

Other sports leagues may soon also get involved with “Let’s Move,” but have yet to be scheduled.

Also Read:

Michelle Obama Launches Childhood Obesity Initiative with LetsMove.Gov

Michelle Obama and Elmo Discuss Healthy Habits

Posted on July 21, 2023 by Health Buzz

Michelle Obama Announces “Let’s Read. Let’s Move.” for Summer Vacation

Summer vacation is no doubt a welcome break for students and teachers alike. But trends show that it’s not for young bodies, as children become less active, eat more poorly and can regress their reading skills by as much of two months. That’s why first lady Michelle Obama has set her sights on summer vacation as her next target for her Let’s Move initiative, a program which aims to improve the overall health and wellness of American children. Currently about one-third of U.S. children are obese or overweight, a trend that isn’t helped by slackened summer dietary habits.

In an effort to not only promote healthier, more active children, the first lady also wants them to read more, thus the announcement of the “Let’s Read. Let’s Move.” campaign. This targets mind and body. (more…)

Posted on June 9, 2023 by Natalie K

School Lunch Program Asks Kids to Cook

Childhood obesity has been a hot button topic years in the making. From the First Lady’s interest in the issue, to Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution show, America is well aware of how school lunches and nutrition are affecting our youth.

A new documentary series, Food Forward, which focuses on the ever-changing food system and its effect on different populations, recently visited Pacific Elementary School near San Jose, California to film their school lunch production. Every day, the fifth and sixth grade students make 100 meals from scratch with the help of staff. That’s right, the kids are involved in the cooking! (What a novel idea… home ec, anyone?)

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Posted on May 20, 2023 by Rebecca