michelle obama

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) office in Prague, Czech Republic, joined the People’s Garden initiative in the summer of 2009, when employees started planning their project, researching potential garden sites, and identifying input suppliers and partners. Their effort bore fruit in summer 2010 with the first Czech People’s Garden planted at the U.S. Embassy compound in Prague.

Working in the dirt is no big deal for 4-H member Josh Tice. However, it’s not every day he gets invited to help First Lady Michelle Obama plant a cherry blossom tree in honor of the 100^th anniversary of Japan’s gift to the United States.

Josh, and his mom and dad, Deana and Josiah, were on hand last Tuesday for the event in Washington, DC. Josh was one of six young people selected to participate alongside the First Lady. During the event, Josh was able to meet Mrs. Obama and even give her a hug. Naturally though, his 4-H side shined through as he said his favorite part of the event was scooping up dirt for the actual planting.

Mark Haskell has perfected the school garden recipe: a green thumb, a passion for home-grown food, culinary expertise and partnerships with GreenSchools! and the U.S. Forest Service to whip up the excitement of urban school children connecting their garden to the food they eat.

Did you know that Georgetown is the Red Poppy Capital of Texas? I was surprised to find out that the city is known for the red poppy wildflowers that bloom throughout the city each spring. They hold the Red Poppy Festival each year in April and attract approximately 30,000 visitors.

Last Saturday, First Lady Michelle Obama announced the Communities on the Move Video challenge and invited faith-based, community, and other non-profit organizations to create inspiring videos about their efforts to reverse the trend of childhood obesity. The challenge will recognize community efforts that promote healthy lifestyles for kids by encouraging nutritious eating through USDA’s MyPlate icon, increasing physical activity, and/or 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.”

Community members and organizations of Monroe County in Wisconsin have teamed up to create Monroe On the GO (MOGO). MOGO is a coalition dedicated to increasing access to healthy, affordable foods, one of the pillars of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative. As a Let’s Move Faith and Communities supporter, MOGO is a great example for how community partners are leading, organizing, and taking action to raise a healthier generation of kids.

This month marked an important step forward for the health and well-being of our nation’s youngsters.  USDA announced changes to improve the quality of school lunches that are served to 32 million American children each day. This will help them learn and better prepare them for the jobs of the 21^st century.

These new standards – based on the most up-to-date science – will make the same kinds of practical changes that many parents are already encouraging at home:

They’ll make sure students are offered both fruits and vegetables every day of the week – and increase opportunities to eat whole grains.  They’ll substantially reduce the amount of saturated fat, trans-fats and salt in meals.  And they’ll ensure appropriate portion size, limiting calories based on how old a child is.  To drink, kids will be offered fat-free or low-fat milk.

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.

Today we celebrate an historic achievement on behalf of kids across America. We have accomplished a critical step on the road to deliver healthier, more nutritious food to our nation’s schoolchildren.  Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture released the final rule that sets the standards for critical improvements to the child nutrition programs that serve millions of children across the country every day.

Students from Paul Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., found out the fastest way to find a forest within their urban community: walk outside.