For all the good first lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative will do motivating the private sector, there is hard work ahead as Congress takes up reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act this year.

The administration has proposed an additional $1 billion per year for child nutrition in its fiscal 2011 budget. At first blush, given the state of the economy and the president’s call for a three-year freeze on discretionary spending, this might seem like a win. The School Nutrition Association and the Center for Science in the Public Interest have applauded the proposal and are asking parents and school administrators to get behind this investment.

But the truth is that $1 billion is a far cry from what’s needed to get good food into schools. In fact, $1 billion for child nutrition per year translates to mere pennies for every school lunch. That’s not even what it costs me to put a fresh apple on each lunch tray. (more…)

Reposted with Permission By Jill Richardson:

Are School Lunches Setting Kids Up for Obesity and Poor Nutrition?

February 25, 2010 |

Photo Credit: Beau Wade

Michelle Obama launched her “Let’s Move” campaign to fight obesity with a flood of media attention and a Presidential Memorandum, signed by her husband, establishing a new Task Force on Childhood Obesity. But how does the rhetoric of the Let’s Move campaign stack up against what President Obama’s administration is actually doing to address childhood obesity? While many of the president’s priorities have lost steam in Congress, tackling childhood obesity is thankfully not one of them. But are the administration’s efforts on the right track?

While the First Lady has been a champion for healthy, sustainable food since the creation of her historic garden in her first days in the White House, the title of her campaign, Let’s Move, rings of food industry influence. (more…)