Ed. Note: This article is a cross post from USDA's Blog
The Louisiana State 4-H Food and Fitness Camp is joining the Let’s Move! initiative to combat childhood obesity through improved nutrition and increased physical activity. As a camp for fourth and fifth graders designed and run by high school 4-H teens, the program motivates campers to eat healthier and move more.
This year, the 4-H Food and Fitness Camp incorporated a jungle safari-themed experience, showing campers that eating right and exercising can be fun! Dressed in wild animal costumes and surrounded by fake vines, the campers and counselors played games and learned about nutrition.
While First Lady Michelle Obama was in London leading the U.S. Delegation to the 2012 Olympic Games, communities back at home showed their support for Team USA by dancing, jumping and running their way to a healthier lifestyle. Thousands of people from nearly all 50 states got together to celebrate Let’s Move! Olympic Fun Day on Saturday, July 28th by getting active and having fun. From tug-of-war in Eagle, Wisconsin to badminton in Porterville, CA and from soccer in New York City to relay races in Cornish, ME, we were thrilled by the response!
We hope all the fun and activity inspires your family and community to get moving too! And even though our Olympic Fun Day has passed, you can join or host a Let's Move! Meetup in your community year-round.
Have a look at some of the coverage, stories, photos and tweets from events that took place around the country:
Ed note: This was originally published on whitehouse.gov
First Lady Michelle Obama was in the stands on Saturday as Team USA scored its first gold medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In her unofficial capacity as First Fan, Mrs. Obama had the chance to cheer on swimmer Ryan Lochte as he won the men's 400 meter individual medley.
Posted by Marissa Duswalt, Associate Director for Policy and Events of the Lets Move! Initiative on July 27, 2012
Ed note: This post originally appeared on the blog at whitehouse.gov
Today, First Lady Michelle Obama joined 2,000 American military children and American and British students at Let’s Move! London, an event held to spread the spirit of the Olympic Games in London. The First Lady is leading the U.S. Delegation to the Summer Games and Let’s Move! London was designed to turn the inspiration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games into action by encouraging kids to get moving.
“That’s what Let's Move is all about. It’s about helping kids like you live happier, healthier lives,” Mrs. Obama told the crowd gathered at the U.S. Ambassador's Residence in London. “And that’s really why we brought you all here today… because we want you to see that there all kinds of ways that you can stay active and have fun doing it. You don't have to be an Olympian. You don't have to join a team. But there are so many ways that you can have fun and keep yourselves moving.”
Posted by Ari Isaacman Astles, Digital Strategy Analyst on July 27, 2012
To celebrate the start of the Summer Games in London, First Lady Michelle Obama is calling on communities around the country to support Team USA on Saturday, July 28, not just by cheering from the couch, but by taking inspiration from their hard work and dedication to get active. Cities, towns and organizations across America have signed on to support tomorrow's Let’s Move! Olympic Fun Day with activities that promote healthy living.
From a day of dancing on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to a Fitness and Nutrition Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, and from an Olympic-style relay in Bluffton, Indiana to a workout on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Moncia, California, there are more than 200 Let's Move! Olympic Fun Day events being planned on Meetup in more than forty states.
Have you ever heard of an Edible Forest Garden? It’s a garden that grows native and edible plants, and it's also a great way to get kids connected to nature. In Richmond, California, volunteers came together to celebrate Cesar Chavez Community Garden Day at their own Edible Forest garden. Youth learned about forest plants that are both unique to the local geography and also edible.
Posted by Kori Schulman, Director of Online Engagement on July 26, 2012
First Lady Michelle Obama is leading the U.S. Delegation to the 2012 Olympic Games and she’s calling on families around the country to support Team USA, not just by cheering on our athletes, but by getting active in their own communities.
Saturday, July 28th is the first day of the competition in London. We're calling on families around the country to join us by participating in “Olympics-inspired” Meetups in your towns or neighborhoods.
Is your menu ready for the first day of the Olympic Games? On July 28th, the First Lady is hosting the first ever national Let’s Move! Olympic Fun Day inspired by the summer games and as part of her Let’s Move! initiative to raise a healthier generation of kids. To join the celebration, Reed Alexander cooked up some delicious recipes inspired by London’s finest delicacies. Check out tips and recipes from Reed below:
Ed. Note: As the First Lady leads the U.S. Delegation to the 2012 Olympic Games in London, she is calling on communities across the country to participate in an “Olympics-inspired” Meetup on July 28, 2012. You can learn more about Let's Move! Olympic Fun Day at: letsmove.gov/meetup.
Do you have Olympic fever?
This Saturday, July 28, as First Lady Michelle Obama leads the U.S. Delegation to the 2012 Olympic Games, she’s calling on families around the country to support Team USA, not just by cheering on our athletes, but also by organizing their own Let's Move! Olympic Fun Day events.
As the CEO of a national nonprofit dedicated to building playgrounds, I can’t help but be excited. After all, the Olympics encapsulates many of the elements that make outdoor play so critical: teamwork, skill development, challenge, and fitness, to name just a few.
Posted by Ali Kelley, Deputy Associate Director, Lets Move Outside on July 19, 2012
Can you believe that we’re half way through the summer? With many schools starting up again next month, there’s no time like the present to take off and spend an hour or more exploring the outdoors!
You don’t need to live near a beach or a national park to experience the joys of America’s great outdoors! There are places in every community – from bike paths and trails, to local parks, ponds and playgrounds – to get moving outside and have a little fun.
Posted by Marissa Duswalt, Let’s Move! Associate Director of Policy & Events on July 18, 2012
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Today in Philadelphia, First Lady Michelle Obama joined local elected officials from across the country to announce new opportunities to bring Let’s Move! to cities, towns and counties across America. Since she launched Let’s Move!, the First Lady has encouraged local solutions to solving the problem of childhood obesity within a generation. Today, she announced opportunities for local elected officials to do just that through Let’s Move! Cities, Towns & Counties, an initiative that calls upon all local elected officials to work for changes that make their communities healthier.
“Reading is a way to travel in your mind,” said Cornell McClellan, the First Family’s Nutrition and Fitness Trainer, to over 130 students from DC area schools, camps, and youth programs at the first of ED’s four part Let’s Read! Let’s Move! series.
McClellan joined Secretary Arne Duncan and Sam Kass, assistant chef and senior policy advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives at the White House, to read and talk to more than 100 local children about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and learning over the summer. Students Jaden McDowell and Kylie Peterson, from DC’s United Planning Organization, had the honor of introducing the secretary and his guests to kick off the activities.
The winners of the Communities on the Move Video Challenge have been chosen! Since First Lady Michelle Obama announced the Video Challenge in February, Let’s Move Faith and Communities has been inspired by every congregation and community that submitted a video highlighting how they are promoting healthy lifestyles for kids. From putting on nutrition-themed puppet shows in Connecticut to advocating for safer play spaces in Colorado and preaching healthy living from the pulpit in Florida, the ideas in these videos demonstrate the commitment that communities across the country have to reversing the trend of childhood obesity within a generation.
Minutes after the opening of Trinity Elementary Community School Park (CSP) earlier this year, neighborhood women were briskly walking a new track with their children. Kids were playing soccer on a new grass field, a college recreation class organized interactive games, and a REI outdoor specialist was teaching youth GPS orienting. After five years of planning, hundreds of children, parents, grandparents, and neighbors joined dignities celebrating Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and People for Parks first CSP. A week later a similar scene was repeated at Vine elementary in Hollywood. A grant secured by PFP opens the Trinity and Vine on weekends, holidays and school vacations. Recreation enrichment activities are being organized.
