This year, Let’s Move Faith & Communities is teaming up with the National Institutes of Health’s We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition)® program! We Can! is a national education program designed to provide families, caregivers and communities the science-based tips, tools and strategies that they can use to help children eat right, move more and reduce screen time.

We all know that Colin Kaepernick can pass, Serena Williams can serve, and Gabrielle Douglas can stick a landing. But did you know these athletes are working with First Lady Michelle Obama on a new program within her Let’s Move! initiative: Let’s Move! Active Schools? These athletes teamed up with First Lady Michelle Obama on the July cover of Sports Illustrated for Kids to promote bringing physical activity back to American schools and inside, First Lady Michelle Obama discusses her passion for helping the next generation grow-up healthy and active.  

Last year, the principal of our school organized a school garden club for all interested students. With the tremendous work of master gardener Mr. Bill Baxter, and his son and daughter in law, Jesse and Dana Zettergren, the club members have been able to maintain the school garden throughout the summer and into this school year. We have found that it has been quite easy to tie in the garden club to the lunches that we serve through the National School Lunch Program. We are also testing out new ways to make our school-grown vegetables last longer. We suggest you try: Freezing vegetables Making pickles Using herbs to make herb-flavored oils Canning vegetables Drying fruit Donating excess produce to reduce waste and involve the community in our garden

The Provo, Utah, school meals team has a theme every year and builds their menus and activities around it. This year’s theme is “Nourishing Your Child’s Future.”   Our school district has been serving fresh fruit and vegetables for years, so adjusting to the new guidelines was easy. Cooking more from scratch meant more labor, but it’s worth it to get healthier food served to the kids. I also buy fresh, local produce and while insisting on fresh produce can mean more effort, higher costs, and more labor in preparation, the rewards far outweigh the work. It can be a hunt but it’s worth it. In fact, sourcing fruits and vegetables from within Utah is a priority. There’s nothing better than that fresh squash from a local farm or that ripe Utah peach or apple fresh off the tree straight to your cafeteria.