First lady hosts kids’ state dinner, president drops by
July 13, 2015 |11:35 AM
First Lady Michelle Obama greets students who won a healthy school meal recipe contest at the annual Kids’ State Dinner at the White House. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)As part of her campaign to maintain healthier school meals, First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the annual White House kids’ state dinner on Friday, and President Barack Obama dropped by the event.
“Back in 2010, based on some advice that we got from doctors and nutritionists and scientists in this country, we realized that we needed to improve the quality of school meals by adding fruits and veggies and whole grains,” the first lady said as she welcomed the 55 winners of the “Healthy Lunchtime Challenge” recipe contest from the 50 states, four territories and the District of Columbia.
“And it required a lot — a little energy to make that happen, a little pushing back. But right now, today, 95 percent of schools in this country are now meeting those new standards. And that’s a wonderful achievement,” she said.
“Now tens of millions of kids are now getting better nutrition every single day … there are many kids who go to school and they don’t have breakfast, and breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So you imagine, now the schools all over this country are providing that kind of nutrition so kids who might not get that nutrition at home are getting it at school. This is an important step forward,” the first lady added.
She did not mention that the child nutrition programs are scheduled for reauthorization by Congress this year and that the School Nutrition Association, which represents school food service directors and the companies that make school foods, is asking that some of the provisions be rolled back.
The schools have reported a decline in school meal participation, and the recipe contest, while described as part of the first lady’s Let’s Move! Campaign against childhood obesity, also is clearly part of the administration’s effort to prove that healthier school meals can be tasty.
Students were invited to consult USDA’s ChooseMyPlate.gov and enter recipes that follow USDA’s nutrition guidance and are “healthy, affordable, original and delicious,” the White House said.
The winners were chosen by a panel of judges that included Michel Nischan, president and CEO of Wholesome Wave, officials from USDA and other agencies, and Debra Eschmeyer, the executive director of Let’s Move!, as well as previous winners.
“Nearly 1,000 kids entered this contest — 1,000!” the first lady noted.
“This was a real competition … You blew the judges away with your talent and creativity. You included fruits and veggies from every color of the rainbow in your recipes.
“You used all kinds of ingredients — flax seed — do any of the adults even know what flax seed is? Cumin, and we have yellow miso paste that was included in one of the recipes — pretty sophisticated.”
The students were also treated to a performance by cast members from the Broadway show Aladdin and to a tour of the White House kitchen garden, but the highlight was a short appearance by the president.
“The reason it's so important for you guys to be here and to be doing what you're doing is because the truth is, that parents, it turns out, don't always have the most influence in terms of encouraging young people to eat healthy,” the president said.
“What really helps is when their friends at school are all, like, oh, you’re having chips? I’m sorry, I’m having the Barack-amole” — a reference to a dish named after the president that was one of the winning recipes and served Friday alongside a California Rainbow Taco with Mic-Kale Obama Slaw.
“And then, because you’re a cool kid, suddenly the other kids are all, like, well, if that cool kid is eating broccoli, maybe I should try that broccoli out. So you guys are setting a great example for all your friends in school and in the neighborhoods, and we're really proud of you for that,” the president added.
“I hope you guys have a wonderful dinner. And I'm going to come around and shake hands with people, but I can’t take selfies with everybody because I’ve actually got just a few other things to do … But you can take pictures while I’m shaking hands.”
- White House (video) — The President and First Lady Speak at the 2015 Kids’ “State Dinner”
- PBS Parents — Healthy Lunctime Challenge & Kids’ “State Dinner”
- Winners and links to featured recipes
- Carolina Herrera — Archive
- — Botanical belted shirtdress
The White House Kids’ State Dinner featured colorful table settings. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
