Ever since our country elected Donald Trump as the next president of the United States, discussions about President Barack Obama’s legacy have intensified. But someone else — first lady Michelle Obama — will leave a legacy too; one that I’m particularly thankful for.
Now, more than ever, I want to remind the nation how important the work we do in school food is, and how much gratitude I have for all of the work that Michelle Obama has done and continues to do for our country’s children. My hope is that the new administration takes the health of our nation’s children as seriously as the Obama administration has.
[See: 10 of the Biggest Health Threats Facing Your Kids This School Year.]
That being said, allow me to reflect on how far we’ve come since I began my career in school food in 1999. I approached the job with 20 years of experience as a high-end chef who intended to serve our nation’s kids real food with real taste and nutritional value. This turned out to be a renegade idea, since, at the time, almost no one was talking about the need to feed our kids healthy food at school. In fact, the overwhelming majority of school food consisted of highly-processed, heat-and-serve options. Fruit and vegetables regularly came out of cans. The fruit was often floating in a liquid laden with high-fructose corn syrup, and the vegetables were gray and lifeless. Mystery meat was a staple, and fresh food of any kind was a rarity. The National School Lunch Program guidelines, as well as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, were both outdated, allowing soda and nutritionally-empty junk food to permeate school cafeterias. That was then.
Fast forward to today, and we’re now benefiting from the legacy of Michelle Obama, one of the most amazing advocates for childhood nutrition I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. In my mind, her work really all started with the White House vegetable garden, which I was invited to tour in 2009. It was much smaller at the time than it is today, but it felt important and symbolic of things to come — and that premonition proved to be very true. Yet even as I walked among the beds of herbs and vegetables with then-White House chef Sam Kass (who went on to become executive director of Let’s Move! and senior policy adviser for nutrition policy), I could never have imagined how much was going to change in eight short years.
As Congress stewed in gridlock, President Obama’s Cabinet pushed through healthier food policy, and the first lady took up the mantle with a fierce passion. The president’s choices for secretary of education (Arne Duncan) and secretary of agriculture (Tom Vilsack) set the tone for an administration that would prioritize health and food policy. Both men were strong advocates for healthier food and Secretary Duncan is even on record saying, “If we want to close the achievement gap, we need to close the nutrition gap.” With their support, first lady Michele Obama was able to make some of the most significant changes to school food since the federal program began in 1946. Among the most impactful:
— The first lady played an instrumental role in getting the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act — arguably the most progressive set of guidelines for school breakfast and lunch since the inception of the National School Lunch Program — in 2010. The act also gave the U.S. Department of Agriculture the power to oversee all snack food sold in schools and administer the Smart Snacks in School guidelines, which significantly improved the nutritional quality of school snacks.
[See: 11 Fantastic Fall Snacks.]
— Michelle Obama launched Let’s Move!, a comprehensive initiative dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity, in 2010. Its sub-initiatives touch millions of children and help ensure they have access to healthy food and physical activity.
— One of those initiatives, Let’s Move Salad Bars to School, was formed by four partners: Chef Ann Foundation, United Fresh Start Foundation, Whole Kids Foundation and the National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance. To date, this initiative has raised over $12 million and donated close to 5,000 salad bars to schools across the country.
— The first lady also championed a variety of programs that made healthier food and nutrition education accessible to families across the country. With her help, the ancient “food pyramid” was reworked into the more accurate MyPlate diagram, which helps guide Americans on food choices that lead to healthier lifestyles.
— The agriculture department implemented the robust Farm to School Program to help schools make connections with local producers and bring farm-fresh food into school lunchrooms.
— The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated the nutrition facts label for the first time in decades in order to help families make healthy food choices.
— Partnership for a Healthier America was established, bringing together over 225 partners to support healthier eating for kids.
[See: The 10 Best Diets for Healthy Eating.]
None of this could have been accomplished without Michelle Obama’s tireless dedication to childhood health. She’s one of my heroes — she’s a truly amazing advocate, a strong voice with true leadership and, as we’ve seen on numerous occasions, a powerful speaker. I’d like us all to raise a glass and toast the first lady. May we all support and grow the work that she began and forge partnerships with the new administration to further the health of our nation’s children.
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A Chef’s Toast to Michelle Obama originally appeared on usnews.com
