Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties
In July 2012, First Lady Michelle Obama launched the five goals of Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties (LMCTC). Since then, local elected officials from almost 500 cities, towns and counties from across the country – from Anchorage Alaska, to Annapolis Maryland, and everywhere in between – have signed up for the initiative, pledging their commitment to improving the lives of young people in their communities and taking action to prevent childhood obesity.
As of the end of February 2015:
- Local elected officials from 465 sites had committed to implementing the five LMCTC goals
- Over 70 million Americans resided in these cities, towns, and counties
- All 50 states were represented, in addition to the District of Columbia and the U.S. Territory of the Northern Mariana Islands
- 2249 promising practices had been reported
- 25 sites had reached the highest possible achievement level in the initiative: 5 gold medals!
See if your city, town or county is participating by accessing a map of sites here. If your city, town or county is already involved, contact your local elected official inquire how you can contribute. Contact information may be found here.
If your local elected official is not participating, encourage them to get started and sign up. Local elected officials from Let's Move! Cities, Towns and Counties are always finding new and creative ways to embrace Let’s Move!. Just last week, Mayor Linda Reed of Ottawa Kansas declared March 4th “Let’s Move! Child Care Provider Day” and recently, Mayor Michael B. Hancock of Denver, answered the #GimmeFive Challenge!
Mayor Michael B. Hancock of Denver takes the #GimmeFive Challenge
LMCTC provides five relevant, actionable, and measurable goals:
Goal I: Start Early, Start Smart: Helping early care and education program providers incorporate best practices for nutrition, physical activity and screen time into their programs
Goal II: My Plate, Your Place: Prominently displaying MyPlate in all municipally- or county-owned or operated venues that offer or sell food/beverages
Goal III: Smart Servings for Students: Expanding access to meal programs before, during and after the school day, and/or over the summer months
Goal IV: Model Food Service: Implementing healthy and sustainable food service guidelines that are aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in all municipally- or county-owned or operated venues that offer or sell food/beverages
Goal V: Active Kids at Play: Mapping local play spaces, completing a needs assessment, developing an action plan, and launching a minimum of three evidence-informed policies, programs or initiatives aimed at increasing access to play, e.g., supporting a safe routes to school program
The first city to be awarded gold medals in all five goal areas was Beaumont, Texas, and there are now a total of 25 sites at the top of the LMCTC leaderboard.
Other five-gold medal winner sites, and a few examples of their many activities, include:
Boise, Idaho. A series of Let’s Move Boise workshops in 2014 led to the passage of a city ordinance providing training and licensing requirements for child care providers to meet new guidelines for healthy nutrition, increased physical activity, support of breastfeeding and reduction in screen time.
Chester, Pennsylvania. Let’s Move! Chester, an initiative of the Chester Bureau of Health, has strengthened community health and wellness partnerships across the City of Chester. Several initiatives designed to promote healthy snack food options in municipal and school vending machines and free preventative screenings have developed into a community movement resulting in the achievement of five LMCTC gold medals.
Columbia, South Carolina. Through special events, public service announcements, social media, newsletters, community gardens and a TV show, the City of Columbia actively promotes the importance of being physical daily and incorporating healthy food options at every meal.
Fort Collins, Colorado. Fort Collins has institutionalized the goals of Let’s Move! through ongoing programs and sustained partnerships. The City’s successes include diverse and inclusive recreational opportunities, a robust multi-use trail system and natural areas program, an award-winning culture of bicycling, dozens of community food producers, and strong partnerships between government, educational providers and non-profits.
Rancho Cucamonga, California Through a Health-In-All-Policies approach, the City of Rancho Cucamonga has adopted several innovative strategies to increase access to healthy food and physical activity including: a complete streets policy ranked top 10 in the nation, a community gardens policy that modified zoning to include all residential areas and waived city fees, and a farmer’s market.
The National League of Cities (NLC) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provide technical support to participating sites to help them make progress on the goals. NLC has awarded more than 2200 bronze, silver, and gold medals to recognize local elected officials for their LMCTC progress.
