First Lady Michelle Obama at Brock Elementary school
First Lady Michelle Obama was in Slidell on September 8 to commend Louisiana schools for their effort in fighting childhood obesity. Visiting Brock Elementary School, one of 59 schools in the state to earn the Department of Agriculture's Gold Award of Distinction, Mrs. Obama announced an ambitious goal: to "solve the problem of childhood obesity so that kids born today reach adulthood at a healthy weight."
"We're beginning to better understand the magnitude of this crisis," said Mrs. Obama. "We're seeing it all over. Everyone is talking about it now. And we know the threat that it poses to the health of our children. So it's simply not enough to solve this problem halfway or to do it incrementally. This is a national problem and it's affecting every single child in every single community in this country."
Louisiana AFL-CIO President Louis Reine and St. Tammany Federation President Elsie Burkhalter at the First Lady's appearance in Slidell.
The First Lady spoke about her signature program, "Let's Move," which she launched in conjunction with the National Football League, in an effort to get youngsters more physically active.Special guests at the Slidell appearance included the principals and food service managers from schools that earned the Department of Agriculture award.