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Participation, national campaign show growing awareness
This is my fourth year as co-chair of the Movin’ and Munchin’ Schools program and each year I’ve been proud to see its success grow. When the WEA Trust approached me four years ago to help with this Department of Public Instruction (DPI) program, I did it because I believed in its goals and was honored that the Trust thought I could give it a boost.
I recently learned a couple of things that reinforce my belief in this program. For the fourth straight year, the number of schools participating in Movin’ and Munchin’ has set a record. While the final numbers are not yet totaled, there are well over 200 schools committed to participate—a significant increase over last year’s record-setting 174 schools.
And secondly, First Lady Michelle Obama recently announced Let’s Move, a nationwide public awareness campaign designed to get children off the couch and eating healthier in an effort to combat childhood obesity. “Let’s Move will give parents the support they need, provide healthier food in schools, help our kids to be more physically active, and make healthy, affordable food available in every part of our country,” according to a statement announcing the campaign.
Wisconsin ahead of the curve
While there are some differences, Let’s Move sounds a lot like what Suzy Favor Hamilton, the WEA Trust, DPI, and I have been working on for the past four years and it helps reinforce what we are doing with the 10-year-old Movin’ and Munchin’ program.
The Let’s Move campaign should help bring even more attention to Movin’ and Munchin’ Schools. The success of Movin’ and Munchin’ Schools is encouraging, but there is always room for improvement. After all, according to the Let’s Move Web site, Americans spend $150 billion a year to treat obesity-related conditions. And obesity rates have tripled in the past 30 years, a trend that means children may face a shorter expected lifespan than their parents.
Get others involved
The Let’s Move campaign calls for a joint effort from government, health care professionals, businesses, community groups, educators, athletes, and parents. We’ve seen that some of the most successful Movin’ and Munchin’ programs are those that get the community involved with efforts being made by students, school staff, and parents.
If your school is a Movin’ and Munchin’ participant, spread the word to colleagues at other schools that have not yet joined. Though this year’s sign-up deadline has passed, share your experience and encourage others to join next year—and make sure we see you back again, too! While the program is called Movin’ and Munchin’ Schools, we want the themes of setting goals, being active, and eating healthy to become lifelong habits.
