Michelle Obama Touts Healthy Food Financing Program

by Greg Plotkin · 2010-02-23 09:19:00 UTC
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On a visit to Philadelphia last week, Michelle Obama -- flanked by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner -- threw her support behind the proposed National Healthy Food Financing Initiative, a $400 million government program that will help increase access to healthy food in low-income communities across the nation.

Speaking at Fairhill Elementary School, the First Lady underscored the importance of making healthy food more readily accessible to families in traditionally under-served neighborhoods in order to counter the growing trend of childhood obesity -- the cornerstone of her new Let's Move initiative.

"We can create the best nutrition education and physical education programs in the world," she explained, "but if dinner is something off of the shelf of a local gas station or convenience store because there's no grocery store nearby, all our best efforts are going to go to waste."

Solving this access problem is exactly what the Healthy Food Financing Initiative seeks to do. By investing $400 million in new or expanded supermarkets, farmers markets, and other food stores, this new national program will provide many communities with healthy food choices -- as well as well-paying jobs -- they have never had before.

Let's keep the momentum on the this historic investment in food access moving forward. Help spread the word about this opportunity by signing our petition and letting your legislators know that making real food more accessible in low-income communities is the first step in helping Americans become more health-focused food consumers.

Photo credit: Executive Office of the President

Greg Plotkin is the Coordinator of Farm Camp at Flying Pigs Farm in Washington County, New York.
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