The Let’s Move! movement has taken many shapes, sizes and forms. We’ve seen Mayors from towns and cities as far east as Phoenix and as far west as Kauai pledge their support to ending childhood obesity in the region. But there is also something going on a little closer to home. The places we work are our homes away from home. The Offices of the Regional Director and Regional Health Administrator thought no better place to promote the work we are actively engaged in than the place we live and work at everyday, the San Francisco Federal Building.

On April 5, a number of initiatives were combined together, including the Million Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) Challenge, National Walk to Work Day, and National Women’s Health Week. Each of these initiatives played a complementary role to the Let’s Move! initiative. It illustrates how 16 federal and non-governmental organizations can partner together to both educate and inspire federal employees to be active and promote the work they tend to, day in and day out.

Federal employees in San Francisco came together to celebrate active lifestyles and healthy eating through Let's Move!

Every part of the San Francisco Federal Building was utilized to provide “something for everyone”, including an interactive educational exhibit provided by U.S. Food and Drug Administration; information on nutrition and healthy food choices from the USDA/Food and Nutrition Service including the 2010 Dietary Guidelines; and the benefits of outdoor recreation provided by the U.S. Forest Service, and East Bay Regional Parks District, to promote enjoyment of local, open space in Alameda and Contra Costa counties east of San Francisco.

The Fitness Center held an open house and a popular local trainer held a special class “How to Get the Most Out of Your Workout”. The on-site child care center (Kids by the Bay) conducted a poster session and served a healthy snack to demonstrate their efforts to become a Let’s Move! childcare site. Children also enjoyed 30 minutes of physical activity courtesy of Wii “Just Dance Kids”, as did a room full of federal employees who moved to the song “Just Dance”.

Local Chefs were involved, too. The “Chefs Moves to Schools” Program and Core Foods provided demonstrations on healthy food preparation and nutrition education. Federal employees were also solicited to submit healthy recipes for a virtual Let's Move! cookbook and many provided fresh approaches to cooking healthy. Within the next month, the Office of the Regional Health Administrator will plan to hold a recipe tasting follow-up event in an effort to continue nutrition education to federal employees and our community.

We are proud of all the federal employees and visitors who participated and believe if we continue our steps toward educating our federal employees as well as the public to eat healthy and stay active we will move closer to our ultimate goal of eliminating childhood obesity.