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Posted by Deidra McGee, Public Affairs Specialist, U.S. Forest Service on June 7, 2011
Once again this year, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell is encouraging kids and their families to reconnect with nature and have fun by participating in the 4th annual National Get Outdoors Day (GO Day), on Saturday, June 11. This FREE event is designed to attract diverse communities to outdoor activities and motivate kids to get moving and explore their forests and other public lands.   “GO Day is an excellent opportunity for kids of all ages to try new activities and become inspired to learn more about nature and conservation issues,” said Chief Tidwell. “As the school year comes to a close, this is the perfect time to have fun and foster a sense of curiosity while realizing that national forests and public lands are a source of great adventure.”
Posted by Amanda Browne, Intern, USDA's Food and Nutrition Service on June 7, 2011
National Summer Food Service Program Week – Day 2! Today marks day two in the first ever National Summer Food Service Program Week, a weeklong awareness campaign to promote USDA’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and other programs nationwide to feed low income kids. Lots of things are happening around the country this week to help feed more hungry children this summer. For example today is National Hunger Awareness Day – as designated by the U.S. Senate in a bipartisan resolution. This is very fitting, given that at least 17 million children in the United States face a higher risk of hunger in the summer. Also today Agriculture Secretary Vilsack joined Jeff Bridges, Share Our Strength founder Bill Shore, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and others to launch Virginia’s No Kid Hungry Campaign at Barcroft Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia.  
Posted by Robin Schepper, Executive Director of Let's Move! on June 7, 2011
Last Friday, just a week after the launch of Let’s Move! in Indian Country, First Lady Mrs. Obama and American Indian kids spent the afternoon in the White House kitchen garden planting the “three sisters” crops (corns, beans, and squash). The kids also helped Mrs. Obama harvest crops in the garden, including lettuces, rhubarb, chard, kohlrabi, sugar snap peas, turnips, broccoli and herbs – some of which will be used in Tuesday’s State Dinner in honor of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Posted by Karen Duncan, National Co-chair for Cooking Up Change on June 7, 2011
What does school lunch look like when students are in charge? As high school culinary students recently reminded me, a student-designed lunch is fresh, healthy and full of flavor. For the past year, I have served with Christie Vilsack as National Honorary Co-Chair of Cooking up Change, a competition presented by Healthy Schools Campaign that challenges aspiring chefs studying culinary arts in our nation’s high schools to create a school lunch that meets high nutrition standards, draws from ingredients commonly available to food service, and can be easily prepared in a school kitchen.
Posted by Dr. Janey Thornton, Deputy Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services on June 3, 2011
May 25 was a fabulous day in Dallas, as I presented 154 HealthierUS School Challenge awards to schools of the Dallas Independent School District – the greatest number to a single school district thus far. 78 schools received gold awards and another 76 earned bronze level awards. And, Texas leads the nation with 228 out of 1155 schools in the 42 states that have earned awards.
Posted by Jessica Wahl, Youth Programs Specialist, Department of the Interior on June 3, 2011
On June 4, 2011, the American Hiking Society will hold its 19th annual National Trails Day® (NTD), a celebration of America's magnificent trails system and its countless supporters and volunteers. This year’s NTD theme is, “Made With All Natural Ingredients,” which supports Let’s Move! Outside (LMO), the outdoor activity component of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative to end childhood obesity in a generation. Together, LMO and NTD have inspired land managers and other local and state organizations to host nearly two thousand events nationwide to help connect people, especially youth, with our nation’s extensive trail system.
Posted by Stephen McDonough, MD, Council Member, President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition on June 3, 2011
On May 9th, 2011, I joined fellow members of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition on the South Lawn of the White House. We had the opportunity to participate in and lead exercise stations with military families on a beautiful spring day in Washington. These military families, and the many others across the country, need as much support as possible as they sacrifice to protect our country. At the event, First Lady Michelle Obama announced that Council members had each committed to participating in at least two events this year as part of the Council’s support of Joining Forces, the national initiative launched by the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden to honor and support service members and their families.
Posted by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on June 2, 2011
Cross-posted on USDA blog and the White House blog. Today was an exciting day at USDA as I was joined by First Lady Michelle Obama and Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin to unveil USDA's new food icon, MyPlate. The icon is a departure from MyPyramid and serves as a quick, simple reminder to all consumers, built off of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for all Americans.  
Posted by Jessica Wahl, Youth Programs Specialist, Department of the Interior on June 1, 2011
On Wednesday, May 4, the 850 students at Ronald E. McNair Elementary School in Dallas, Texas got the chance to team up with some of their heroes to participate in a health and wellness event that added a unique twist to the ways we can move and learn outdoors. NIKE’s NFL PLAYERS Live! In the Community, an initiative of the NFL Players Association, partnered with REAL School Gardens to present a day of activities that propelled students beyond the classroom walls to experience how outdoor education can help them grow as learners and healthier people. McNair Elementary Principal Virginia Lockwood-Terry described it as “a day the children will remember for the rest of their lives” as they interacted with current and former NFL players.  Thanks to the support of their community and a group of NFL players, kids at one Dallas elementary school discovered that getting outside is fun, healthy and a great way to get hands-on experience learning about math and science. (Photo by Kimberly Hall Alexander)  
Posted by Brandi Sweet, Bureau of Indian Education, Department of the Interior on June 1, 2011
Deep in the heart of Menominee country, Chaske Spencer addressed over 350 Native American children and community members in Keshena, Wisconsin on May 25, 2011 during the launch of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! in Indian Country initiative to combat childhood obesity. The community, vastly known for its tranquil outdoor beauty and lush forests is also suffering, like most tribal communities, from obesity and health related issues among its youth.  According to the tribe’s Chairman, Mr. Randall Chevalier, the community, “has ranked dead last out of 72 counties in Wisconsin on all health risk factors”.