Stay Healthy with Veggies, Says Michelle Obama

Written by Bhakti on November 25, 2010 in Food, Health - 1 Comment

First lady Michelle Obama, in a recent visit to a school, pushed for “greener” eating habits among kids and adults in the United States. While spending time with elementary school kids on Monday November 22, Obama extolled the virtues of eating more salads and vegetables.

These Riverside Elementary School students were the first batch of school kids in the United States to get a free salad bar in the school cafeteria, as part of Michelle Obama’s initiative to bring more vegetables in the cuisine of school cafeterias.

Most schools cannot afford the equipment or the costs of fresh daily vegetables, with only 15% of public schools in the US actually offering veggie alternatives and salad bars in school cafeterias.

In a bid to change the current state of affairs, Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools” initiative includes the donation of 6,000 salad bars over the next three years to school cafeterias. Most of these schools belong to low-income neighborhoods.

The initiative comes in the wake of Obama’s recent efforts to boost healthy eating to reduce childhood obesity, a condition that leads to health problems in childhood and later life. While spending time with the students, Michelle Obama also visited the school’s garden and spoke about the good harvest in her own garden.

Via: The Huffington Post