Today First Lady Michelle Obama hits the road and takes her Let’s Move, childhood obesity prevention campaign to Philadelphia. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack will accompany Mrs Obama. This one day road trip will highlight a pillar of the Let’s Move program: access to healthy, affordable food. According to the White House Press Office, “They will make local stops to showcase the widespread problem of “food deserts” and the steps Philadelphia has taken to get healthy, affordable food to its communities.” The days activities will include a visit to the Fairhill Elementary School.
This weekend will be a busy one for the First Lady. On Saturday she will address the National Governors Association. Her address will outline the ways state governments can play a leadership role in achieving the goals of Let’s Move. On Sunday she and President Obama will host the annual Governors Ball at the White House. I wonder what she’ll wear.
I hope the First Lady focuses more on urban gardening as part of Let’s Move. It would be great to see families in urban and rural areas planting their own gardens in container boxes or in their backyards. Increasing farmers markets is also a focus of Let’s Move. One way to preserve the freshness of spring and summer farmers market finds is home canning. It may seem like a throwback from days gone by, but have you read the sodium content of some canned foods? Having USDA trained volunteers to teach canning and preserving to local residents would be a great way to bring fresher foods to local communities.
Posted by Aminah Hanan
