First Lady continues challenging schools, companies, people on school meals, obesity
February 06, 2015 |03:40 PM
First Lady Michelle Obama signaled Thursday that she will work hard this year to defend the healthier school meal rules and continue to challenge the country to improve eating habits.
“In the coming months, we’re going to be talking a lot about everything we’ve achieved through Let’s Move,” the first lady said. She launched Let's Move! on Feb. 9, 2010 and on Tuesday it will begin its sixth year of operation.
“But we’ll also be doing some challenging, because while we’ve come a long way, we still have a long way to go, she added.”
Obama made the remarks an event at Edward Reynolds Westside High School in New York City, as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced a new $500 million commitment to ending childhood obesity that will brings its full commitment to $1 billion since 2007.
“While I might get a lot of credit for what we’ve done through Let’s Move, I know that Let’s Move couldn’t even exist if it weren’t for RWJF’s leadership,” the first lady said, as she challenged others to follow the foundation’s example “at your own scale.”
“I know this isn’t easy,” she continued. “I know the voices of the naysayers are still loud and can be intimidating. But if RWJF could invest half a billion dollars back when most folks didn’t even think childhood obesity was a problem, and then invest a half billion more today, then we have to say to ourselves, surely we can push the envelope and aim just a little higher in our own efforts.”
Obama said that, while she was impressed by the foundation’s financial commitment, she was even more impressed by how early it got involved in the obesity issue and the risks it took in addressing it.
“Back in 2007, when you made that investment, when RWJF made that first big commitment to combat childhood obesity, I know there were a lot of folks out there scratching their heads thinking to themselves, ‘RWJF is spending $500 million on that? Why?’
“See, because back in 2007, many folks just didn’t think childhood obesity was a serious issue. And many folks who did think it was a serious issue didn’t want to go anywhere near it, because it seemed like an impossible problem, one so big and so complex and so entrenched it was hard to even know where to begin.”
In 2007, the first lady said, a typical American family “never could have imagined that in just eight years, their kids’ school lunches would be filled with fruits and veggies, whole grains, skim milk, and schools across the country would be doing ‘brain breaks’ and other creative efforts to get kids active during the day.
“They never could have imagined that grocery stores would be cropping up in underserved areas, and convenience stores would start selling fresh produce, and a major American retailer would be putting healthy labels on their food to help people make better choices.”
Instead of congratulating themselves, the leaders of the foundation are making an even bigger commitment “because they understand that in many ways, the progress we’ve made is fragile, and we are nowhere near finished,” she said.
Obama also pointed out that the campaigns against childhood obesity have generated opposition.
“We all know that for everyone in this country who has stepped up to champion this issue, there are plenty of other folks just waiting for us to get bored. They’re just waiting for us to declare victory and turn our attention to other matters. We’ve seen this firsthand with our battles on school lunches. We have seen special interests throwing every resource they have at this issue, and we know that sometimes our kids’ health isn’t exactly their first priority.”
Obama singled out principal Jean McTavish, who teaches a spin class at the school at 7:30 a.m., but has also worked hard to get healthier food served in her school.
The first lady noted that McTavis “fought an epic battle to get skinless chicken breasts into school lunches here — that’s a fight we all have to have. And when the vending company wouldn’t fill the machines here with healthy snacks, this woman literally turned those machines around so they were facing the wall, because, as she put it — and these were her words, as I understand, Jean said, “I don’t have to sell any food in my school, thank you very much.”
Obama said Let’s Move’s theme for the year would be “Celebrate, Challenge, and Champion.”
Champions, she said, would include everyone from McTavis to RWJF.
“We simply cannot afford to be complacent for one single minute,” she said.
“And that’s really what it means to be a champion on this issue — it means being relentless like RWJF. It means pushing and investing until every child in this country can grow up healthy, no matter where that child is from, what that child looks like or how much money their parents have. That’s our goal.”
▪ Let’s Move
▪ Remarks by First Lady at Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Announcement
▪ Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
“In the coming months, we’re going to be talking a lot about everything we’ve achieved through Let’s Move,” the first lady said. She launched Let's Move! on Feb. 9, 2010 and on Tuesday it will begin its sixth year of operation.
“But we’ll also be doing some challenging, because while we’ve come a long way, we still have a long way to go, she added.”
Obama made the remarks an event at Edward Reynolds Westside High School in New York City, as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced a new $500 million commitment to ending childhood obesity that will brings its full commitment to $1 billion since 2007.
“While I might get a lot of credit for what we’ve done through Let’s Move, I know that Let’s Move couldn’t even exist if it weren’t for RWJF’s leadership,” the first lady said, as she challenged others to follow the foundation’s example “at your own scale.”
“I know this isn’t easy,” she continued. “I know the voices of the naysayers are still loud and can be intimidating. But if RWJF could invest half a billion dollars back when most folks didn’t even think childhood obesity was a problem, and then invest a half billion more today, then we have to say to ourselves, surely we can push the envelope and aim just a little higher in our own efforts.”
Obama said that, while she was impressed by the foundation’s financial commitment, she was even more impressed by how early it got involved in the obesity issue and the risks it took in addressing it.
“Back in 2007, when you made that investment, when RWJF made that first big commitment to combat childhood obesity, I know there were a lot of folks out there scratching their heads thinking to themselves, ‘RWJF is spending $500 million on that? Why?’
“See, because back in 2007, many folks just didn’t think childhood obesity was a serious issue. And many folks who did think it was a serious issue didn’t want to go anywhere near it, because it seemed like an impossible problem, one so big and so complex and so entrenched it was hard to even know where to begin.”
In 2007, the first lady said, a typical American family “never could have imagined that in just eight years, their kids’ school lunches would be filled with fruits and veggies, whole grains, skim milk, and schools across the country would be doing ‘brain breaks’ and other creative efforts to get kids active during the day.
“They never could have imagined that grocery stores would be cropping up in underserved areas, and convenience stores would start selling fresh produce, and a major American retailer would be putting healthy labels on their food to help people make better choices.”
Instead of congratulating themselves, the leaders of the foundation are making an even bigger commitment “because they understand that in many ways, the progress we’ve made is fragile, and we are nowhere near finished,” she said.
Obama also pointed out that the campaigns against childhood obesity have generated opposition.
“We all know that for everyone in this country who has stepped up to champion this issue, there are plenty of other folks just waiting for us to get bored. They’re just waiting for us to declare victory and turn our attention to other matters. We’ve seen this firsthand with our battles on school lunches. We have seen special interests throwing every resource they have at this issue, and we know that sometimes our kids’ health isn’t exactly their first priority.”
Obama singled out principal Jean McTavish, who teaches a spin class at the school at 7:30 a.m., but has also worked hard to get healthier food served in her school.
The first lady noted that McTavis “fought an epic battle to get skinless chicken breasts into school lunches here — that’s a fight we all have to have. And when the vending company wouldn’t fill the machines here with healthy snacks, this woman literally turned those machines around so they were facing the wall, because, as she put it — and these were her words, as I understand, Jean said, “I don’t have to sell any food in my school, thank you very much.”
Obama said Let’s Move’s theme for the year would be “Celebrate, Challenge, and Champion.”
Champions, she said, would include everyone from McTavis to RWJF.
“We simply cannot afford to be complacent for one single minute,” she said.
“And that’s really what it means to be a champion on this issue — it means being relentless like RWJF. It means pushing and investing until every child in this country can grow up healthy, no matter where that child is from, what that child looks like or how much money their parents have. That’s our goal.”
▪ Let’s Move
▪ Remarks by First Lady at Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Announcement
▪ Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
