In her speech this week to the School Nutrition Association, First Lady Michelle Obama continued her push for healthier school meals. Promoting her new Let’s Move! campaign to combat childhood obesity through healthy eating and increased exercise, Mrs. Obama was clear that the 31 million students who participate in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs each day should have access to more fresh fruits and vegetables, even saying to the audience of school foodservice directors that she supported increased funds for cafeteria equipment so schools could “… start phasing out those fryers and phasing in new ovens and salad bars and serving lines.” The First Lady then went further, calling the healthfulness of school meals the “… single most important thing we can do to fight childhood obesity.”
Recognizing the fact that kids who participate in school meal programs tend to get close to half of their calories from school meals, Mrs. Obama voiced how important it was that these meals reflect the latest dietary standards. She called for increasing school meal reimbursement rates in order to allow schools to serve more fruits and vegetables and even mentioned examples of schools that are putting healthier options into school vending machines.
A video of the First Lady's speech can be found here http://www.letsmove.gov/ and more information on United's nutrition initiatives can be found by contacting Dr. DiSogra at 202-303-3400.
