Today’s post comes from our friends at Meatless Monday…

Perhaps the most revolutionary thing about Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative is that it works with the today’s busy, complex world, instead of fighting it. “How do we answer the questions or give solutions or approaches to parents in all different kinds of communities?” the first lady asks. With 1 in 3 kids overweight or obese, Obama emphasizes that this generation’s children live in a very different- and much less active- environment. “There are going to be kids who can’t just go out and play. They’re home alone or their neighborhoods aren’t safe. Or what about families that are living out in rural areas where they don’t have a car and can’t go to the local soccer field?”

The Let’s Move initiative seeks to help people make healthier choices by rewarding physical activity as a consistent part of a child’s life. Obama redefined the criteria for the President’s Fitness Awards to include kids who incorporate physical activity in their day to day habits. This expands the award so that kids without access to organized sports can be recognized for integrating fitness into their weekly routines. What a motivation to Move It each Monday!

Obama also takes our diets as the initiative promotes nutrition in encouraging healthy home cooking by making healthy ingredients accessible to the every kitchen. The Healthy Food Financing Initiative is to invest four hundred million dollars to establish grocery stores in underserved communities without access to fresh fruits and veggies. A Farmers’ Market Promotion Program is following suit in devoting five million dollars to improve access so farmer’s markets, so every child can learn about new and different nutritious produce. So take advantage of one of the farmer’s market springing up near you. You and your kids can take a stroll as well as learn how those bell peppers, sweet potatoes and green beans got from their farm to your plate this Meatless Monday.