Kids
National Get Outdoors Day 2011 - Kicks Off Summer Season for Kids
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.”
Secretary Vilsack Highlights Summer Food Service Program Week at No Kid Hungry Launch in Virginia
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.
First Lady and American Indian Kids Plant White House Kitchen Garden
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.
A Colorful Celebration of Confetti Soup
Historical Charleston, S.C., blends the traditional Southern American, English, French, and West African elements into a celebration of its colorful and rich culture. Burke Middle & High School in Charleston celebrated this mix of colorful culture with its semi-finalist recipe, Confetti Soup, making a history all its own through nutrition. The rich wintery soup made with black-eyed pea dots, mixed together with savory smoked ham and dashes of greens, was the center piece at a judging event in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition, held at the school on May 25.
Benvenuti a Ashville! Ira B. Jones Elementary Tempts Judges with Taste of Tuscany
Located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville, N.C., is known for its rich heritage, arts, and fine dining. Recently, students from Ira B. Jones Elementary School, located in Asheville, shared a taste of another well-known region of fine dining – Tuscany – as the school’s recipe team prepared their semi-finalist recipe of Tuscan Smoked Turkey and Bean Soup for the judges in the First Lady’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition.
Kids Move Outside and Experience Fishing on Lake Bastrop
Last Saturday morning, the sun shone brightly over Lake Bastrop near Austin, Texas, where 28 kids and 14 boat captains joined hundreds of volunteers to experience the joys of fishing at the Bureau of Reclamation's 8th Annual Catch A Special Thrill event.
Recipes for Healthy Kids Contest Ends May 31 -- Don’t Forget to Vote!
Have you cast your vote? The selection period for the Popular Choice Award in the First Lady’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition will close soon, so it’s time to make your voice heard. The First Lady and the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched the competition last September, challenging teams of school nutrition professionals, chefs, students, and community members to develop creative, nutritious, and kid-approved recipes that schools can easily incorporate into National School Lunch Program menus - and families can try at home. And I just want to say that I think Recipes for Healthy Kids is a really neat idea. It draws on America’s culinary creativity and our commitment to the healthy lifestyle we all aim for. Chefs are providing culinary expertise, school nutrition professionals are sharing insight as to what can be accomplished in a school setting, and kids and parents are making sure that students will choose these nutritious items in school and beyond.
In Recipe Competition, Ohio School Puts a Healthy Twist on a Tasty Dish
Who says a delicious classic can’t also make a healthful lunch? On Tuesday, students at Van Buren Middle School in Kettering, Ohio served judges in the First Lady’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition their Chicken Alfredo with a Twist, an updated take on Fettucine Alfredo that leaves out extra fat and boosts nutrition with whole grain pasta. Van Buren students Graham, Jonathan, Shawnrica and Savannah worked with chef Rachel Tilford and Kettering school professionals to create a great dish – one of 15 semi-finalist recipes nationwide in the R4HK whole grain category.
The Competition Gets Prickly as Judges Head to Minnesota
I can’t tell you if there are 10,000 lakes in Minnesota, but I can tell you that there is one creative group of students, the South Education Center Alternative (SECA) in Richfield, Minn. Richfield was the next stop in the First Lady’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition judging round. We were eagerly anticipating the visit to SECA because their entry in the whole grains category, Porcupine Sliders, definitely caught our attention with their prickly title.
Aloha! Mount Lebanon Elementary School
You don’t have to go to Hawaii to get a taste of the islands. In fact the students at Mount Lebanon Elementary School in Pendleton, S.C. were cooking up what can only be described as a paradise for the taste buds in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Recipes for Healthy Kids competition. Our judges made their way down to Pendleton as the competition continued its tour across the country to find the top recipe that schools can easily incorporate into National School Lunch Program menus.
