First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks on youth empowerment at a “Joint Luncheon Meeting: Working Together to Address Youth Violence in Chicago,” hosted by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Chicago, Ill., April 10, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

First Lady Michelle Obama today brought a room filled with Chicago business and community leaders to tears as she challenged them to commit to the most important unfinished work of our lifetime -- widening the circle of opportunity for every last one of our children.

Mrs. Obama was in Chicago to address the Public Safety Action Committee, a new private-sector effort launched by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to address the violent crime that is taking a terrible toll on the youth of the great city she and I both call home.

As the First Lady pointed out, thousands of Chicago children are now living in neighborhoods where a funeral for a teenager is considered unfortunate, but not unusual; where wandering onto the wrong block or even just standing on your own front porch can mean putting yourself at risk.

This needs to change. In Chicago and across the country, we need to create ladders of opportunity for our young people. We need to give our children mentors who push them and nurture them. We need to teach them the life-skills they need to succeed. We need to give them alternatives to gangs and drugs – safe places where they can learn something and stay out of trouble. Every single child -- in cities like Chicago and all across America -- has boundless promise, no matter where he or she lives. 

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First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks during the "42" film workshop in the State Dining Room of the White House, April 2, 2013. Workshop participants included, from left, Brian Helgeland, Chad Boseman, Harrison Ford, Rachel Robinson, and moderator Paulette Aniskoff. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

First Lady Michelle Obama today hosted 80 high school and college students from across the country for a screening of "42," followed by an interactive workshop with the cast and crew of the movie. "42" tells the story of Jackie Robinson, the very first African American to play major league baseball. The panel was moderated by Paulette Aniskoff, Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, and featured Harrison Ford, Chadwick Boseman and Brian Helgeland.

The discussion focused on the inspirational themes from Robinson's life that students -- who came from Thurgood Marshall Academy in Washington, DC; Watkins Mill High School in Gaithersburg, MD; TC Williams High School in Alexandria, VA and Amino Jackie Robinson Charter High School in Los Angeles, CA -- can apply to their own.  

Also joining the conversation was Rachel Robinson, Jackie Robinson's widow and his partner throughout his incredible life's journey. And as Mrs. Obama explained to the young crowd, Mrs. Robinson's example can be their guide. "Jackie and Rachel Robinson weren't destined for greatness -- they prepared themselves for greatness, which meant that they could make a difference outside of baseball, as well. And that is the only thing that is important for you to understand. You can be great in your profession, you can earn a lot of money, you can be famous, but the question is what are you doing for others."

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Ed. Note: This is a cross post from the blog of LetsMove.gov. You can find the original post here.

We're excited to announce that our next White House Social will be a Let's Move! Social here, at the White House. On Monday, April 1st, 2013, the First Family will host the 135th annual White House Easter Egg Roll with the theme "Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!" We are inviting Let's Move! followers on Twitter and Facebook and their children, ages 5 - 13, to join the fun on the South Lawn and of course to share their experience with their followers! The day's activities -- which will include sports and cooking demonstrations -- will help educate families on smart ways to incorporate healthy eating and exercise choices into their daily routines, key pillars of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative.

Interested in joining? Sign up for your chance to join other @LetsMove followers for the White House Easter Egg Roll at WhiteHouse.gov/Social

In order to apply, you must follow @LetsMove on Twitter or Facebook and you must have children ages five to thirteen. After you sign up for your chance to attend, spread the word! Let your followers know that you submitted your entry for the #WHSocial and tell us @LetsMove. Be sure to sign up soon! Registration closes on Friday, March 22nd at 12:00 p.m. EDT.

First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks on the Joining Forces Initiative to business leaders at the Business Roundtable Conference Center in Washington, D.C., March 13, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

First Lady Michelle Obama today met with the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies which combined have nearly 16 million employees, and challenged these leaders to make bold commitments to hire our veterans and military spouses and help them reach their full potential within their companies.

Mrs. Obama highlighted the need for action, referring to the hundreds of thousands of veterans and military spouses currently looking for work, and pointing out that in the coming years, over one million more will be hanging up their uniforms and transitioning back to civilian life. "These men and women will be returning to their families, rejoining their communities, and figuring out what’s next in their lives," said the First Lady. "And as they do all of that, the one thing that they're going to be thinking about is a job."

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First Lady Michelle Obama participates in a “Let’s Move! Active Schools” event with athletes and students at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill., Feb. 28, 2013. The First Lady called on leaders to support schools’ efforts to ensure all kids get the physical activity they need to stay healthy and succeed in school. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

According to First Lady Michelle Obama, Thursday was "a groundbreaking, earth-shattering, awesomely-inspiring day." That's because Mrs. Obama was in Chicago to announce the launch Let’s Move Active Schools, an unprecedented effort to bring physical education back to America’s schools.

The problem is severe -- we are raising the most sedentary generation in history. Only six states require P.E. in all grades, and only one in three kids is physically active on a daily basis. In addition to the health risks associated with an inactive lifestyle, including diabetes and obesity, physical activity has been shown to lower anxiety and stress, and fight depression. In addition, physically active kids do better in school, with studies showing that physical activity enhances important skills, like concentration and problem solving, which have been shown to improve academic performance.  

Let’s Move! Active Schools is designed to address these challenges by spurring innovative solutions and offering customized support every step of the way. It empowers schools to find free or low-cost ways to incorporate movement before, during, and after the school day. And thanks to funding and other resources being provided by NIKE, Inc., the GENYOUth Foundation, ChildObesity180, Kaiser Permanente, and the General Mills Foundation, schools can connect to grant opportunities, online resources, personal assistance, and hands-on professional development. The President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (PCFSN) the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD) and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation are the managing organizations guiding the development and implementation of the program.

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Mrs. Obama’s visit to a Springfield, MO Walmart highlights that what’s good for kids and good for family budgets can also be good for business
 
Springfield, MO – As part of the celebration of the third anniversary of Let’s Move!, First Lady Michelle Obama today visited a Walmart in Springfield, MO to celebrate American companies that are committed to creating and selling healthy products.  In doing so, these companies are showing the country that what’s good for kids and good for family budgets can also be good for business.
 
The Walmart store Mrs. Obama visited was built as part of the company’s Let’s Move! commitment to open or expand up to 300 stores in communities with limited access to healthy, affordable food.

Echoing what she wrote in an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal, Mrs. Obama today said, “For years, the conventional wisdom said that healthy products simply didn’t sell – that the demand wasn’t there, that higher profits were found elsewhere, so it just wasn’t worth the investment. Thanks to Walmart and so many other great American businesses, we are proving the conventional wisdom wrong. Every day, with their success, these companies are showing us that what’s good for kids and good for family budgets can also be good for business.”
 
At today’s event with the First Lady, Walmart announced it has made significant progress in its efforts to make food healthier, and healthier food more affordable. In the first two years of their comprehensive, five-point effort to provide its customers with healthier and more affordable food, Walmart has saved their customers more than $2.3 billion on fresh fruit and vegetables and opened 86 stores in underserved communities. Walmart is also unveiling its “Great For You” icon – a front-of-package label, backed by rigorous nutrition criteria, designed to help customers quickly find healthier choices. More than 1,300 Walmart Great Value and Marketside items, as well as fresh and packaged fruits and vegetables have the icon.
 
“We are proud of the work we have done in the last two years to make it easier and more affordable for our customers to buy healthier food, and we know there is more work to do,” said Leslie Dach, executive vice president of corporate affairs at Walmart. “We applaud First Lady Michelle Obama’s continued leadership. Her passion is encouraging companies and organizations, like Walmart, to make continued progress that positively affects the health and wellness of the communities we serve.”
 
First Lady Michelle Obama was joined by local Springfield mom and teacher Stephanie Kennedy who, since adopting her grandchildren, realized she needed to make a change. During the last two years, she lost 70 pounds by eating healthier and is now trying to teach her students and grandchildren about the importance of eating healthy.

“As a mom of two young children, I shop for groceries on a tight budget,” said Kennedy. “If there’s a choice I can make that’s both less expensive and more nutritious, that’s a win for me and my family. It was an honor to share today with the First Lady– she inspired me to continue to make better choices for my family. It’s not every day you get to share your grocery list with the First Lady!”
 
The event was part of the First Lady’s three-city, two-day tour celebrating the three-year anniversary of the Let’s Move! campaign.

The full text of the op-ed by First Lady Michelle Obama is printed below. The piece is published today in The Wall Street Journal and can be found HERE. 

The Business Case for Healthier Food Options
By First Lady Michelle Obama

For years, America's childhood obesity crisis was viewed as an insurmountable problem, one that was too complicated and too entrenched to ever really solve. According to the conventional wisdom, healthy food simply didn't sell—the demand wasn't there and higher profits were found elsewhere—so it just wasn't worth the investment.

But thanks to businesses across the country, today we are proving the conventional wisdom wrong. Every day, great American companies are achieving greater and greater success by creating and selling healthy products. In doing so, they are showing that what's good for kids and good for family budgets can also be good for business.

Take the example of Wal-Mart. In just the past two years, the company reports that it has cut the costs to its consumers of fruits and vegetables by $2.3 billion and reduced the amount of sugar in its products by 10%. Wal-Mart has also opened 86 new stores in underserved communities and launched a labeling program that helps customers spot healthy items on the shelf. And today, the company is not only seeing increased sales of fresh produce, but also building better relationships with its customers and stronger connections to the communities it serves.

Wal-Mart isn't alone in discovering that healthier products sell. Disney is eliminating ads for junk foods from its children's programming and improving the food served in Disney theme parks. Walgreens is adding fresh fruits and vegetables to its stores in underserved communities. And restaurants around the country are cutting calories, fat and sodium from menus and offering healthier kids' meals.

These companies and so many others are responding to clear trends in consumer demand. Today, 82% of consumers feel that it's important for companies to offer healthy products that fit family budgets, according to the Edelman public relations firm. Meanwhile, a study conducted by Nielsen revealed that even when many families are operating on tight budgets, sales of fresh produce actually increased by 6% in 2012. And in 2011, the Hudson Institute reported that in recent years, healthier foods have generated more than 70% of the growth in sales for consumer packaged-goods companies—and when these companies sell a high percentage of healthier foods, they deliver significantly higher returns to their shareholders.

These trends don't just matter for businesses that produce and sell food. They matter for every business in America. We spend $190 billion a year treating obesity-related health conditions like diabetes and heart disease, and a significant portion of those costs are borne by America's businesses. That's on top of other health-related costs like higher absenteeism and lower worker productivity, costs that will continue to rise and threaten the vitality of American businesses until this problem is solved once and for all.

That's why American businesses are stepping up to invest in building a healthier future for our kids. In doing so, they are joining leaders from every sector across the country. Over the past few years, through Let's Move!—our nationwide campaign to help kids grow up healthy—we've seen teachers bringing physical education back into schools. We've seen mayors building safe spaces where children can play, faith leaders educating their congregations about healthy eating, and parents preparing healthier meals and snacks for their kids. And we've seen Republicans and Democrats working together in Congress to pass groundbreaking legislation to improve school lunches.

And we're starting to see real results. In Mississippi, obesity rates have dropped by 13% for elementary school-aged kids. States like California, and cities like New York and Philadelphia, have also seen measurable declines in childhood obesity.

So it's clear that we are moving in the right direction. But we also know that the problem is nowhere near being solved. We need more leaders from all across the country to step up, and I stand ready to work with business leaders who are serious about taking meaningful steps to forge a healthier future. We need every business in America to dig deeper, get more creative, and find new ways to generate revenue by giving American families better information and healthier choices. We know this can be done in a way that's good for our kids and good for businesses.

That's why, even though we still have a long way to go, I have never been more optimistic about our prospects for solving this problem. And I am confident that, with leadership from America's business community, we can give all our children the bright, healthy futures they so richly deserve.

Mrs. Obama is the first lady of the United States.

First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks during a “Beasts of the Southern Wild” movie workshop in the State Dining Room of the White House, Feb. 13, 2013. Participating, from left, are: movie director Benh Zeitlin; actor Dwight Henry; actress Quvenzhané Wallis; and moderator Rachel Goslins, a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. (Official White House Photo by ) (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

First Lady Michelle Obama today welcomed 80 middle and high school students to an interactive workshop with the cast and crew of the film Beasts of the Southern Wild, in the State Dining Room. The students, who were from Washington, DC and New Orleans, LA, got to talk with director Benh Zeitlin, actor Dwight Henry and the movie's 9-year-old star, Oscar-nominated actress Quvenzhané Wallis,  who stars as Hushpuppy. 

Mrs. Obama described the film as "beautiful, joyful and devastatingly honest," and praised its underlying message of strength and resilience:

 It's a movie that makes us all think deeply about the people we love in our lives who make us who we are. It shows us the strength of our communities, no matter what they look like.  It shows us that those communities can give us the power to overcome any kind of obstacles. And it also tells a compelling story of poverty and devastation, but also of hope and love in the midst of some great challenges.

So there are so many important lessons to learn in that little 93 minutes. That’s the other cool thing -- that a director and a set of writers and producers can say so much in just 93 minutes.  And it doesn’t always happen in a movie, quite frankly, but this one did it, and that’s why I love this movie so much and why our team wanted to bring it here to the White House and share it with all of you.

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Ed note: this post was originally published on Let's Move's official blog. You can read it here

First Lady Michelle Obama launched Let’s Move! on February 9, 2010 to unite the country around our kids’ health and create real support for families to live healthier lives. Since then we’ve seen substantial commitments from parents, business leaders, educators, elected officials, military leaders, chefs, physicians, athletes, childcare providers, community and faith leaders, and kids themselves to improve the health of our nation’s children. Thanks to these efforts, families now have access to more of the information they need to make healthier decisions for their children. Young people now have more opportunities for physical activity in their communities. Food in schools has been dramatically improved. And more Americans now have access to healthy, affordable food right in their communities. 

First Lady Michelle Obama participates in a tug of war competition at an activity station during a “Let’s Move! London” event at Winfield House in London, England, July 27, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)

Later this month we’ll be celebrating Let’s Move!’s third anniversary by showcasing progress and announcing new ways the country is coming together around the health of our children. Until then, here’s a look back on what the nation has accomplished over the past 3 years.

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Hello, everyone! Thank you, Marjorie, for hosting us here today and for your ongoing collaboration as we support our service men and women and their families.

As Second Lady, and as a military mom, I have been honored to spend time with our troops, and our recovering service members—and I am so inspired by the strength and resilience of both British and American military families and veterans.  Major Peter Norton, thank you for your service.

I know a spirit of service is deeply ingrained in all of you … that the warrior mentality doesn’t leave you when you return from war – or when you separate from the military. 

Over the past few days, I have visited with Wounded Warriors and medical staff at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center … and spent the day with soldiers and their families at a US Army base in Germany.

With each visit, I am reminded that our service members and their families have done so much for us … and we can all do something in return.

That spirit is what fuels the Joining Forces initiative the First Lady and I started to support and honor our troops and military families.

And I am very pleased to not only visit with some of the heroes that make the British military so strong, but also all the organizations here that support them.

I know that over the past 10 years, you have all worked so hard to improve the lives of the men and women who have sacrificed so much.  It is your dedication and support that has made all the difference for so many veterans and their families.

You are truly Joining Forces. 

The bonds that British and American troops share are unbreakable. You have served alongside one another every step of the way. Over 250,000 British troops have served alongside Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan. You are brothers and sisters in combat, but also in healing. 

In 2010, a soldier named Brian attended a holiday gathering Joe and I hosted in our home. Brian was newly injured at the time, and he and his young family were adjusting to his new normal – walking on prosthetics … separating from the military … and caring for a newborn while healing from amputations and internal injuries sustained during a blast in Iraq. 

Almost a year later, I was visiting wounded warriors at Walter Reed hospital when I met another young soldier who had just been injured in Afghanistan. 

He told me that he had been struggling to adjust to losing his legs, and to the long healing process ahead of him. 

But he said he was feeling much better because a fellow injured soldier had reached out to him and was mentoring him.  That soldier was Brian. 

Just a year after being injured, Brian was thriving. He gave other wounded warriors confidence that they too would once again be whole. 

I use Brian as an example of that same inner strength we have seen in you as many of you have pursued physical challenges beyond what you ever imagined you could accomplish after your injuries.

Not only do you inspire countless other recovering warriors, you inspire me … my husband Joe … President Barack Obama … First Lady Michelle Obama … and all Americans.

To our heroes and your families, thank you for your sacrifice and service, and to our British partners and friends, thank you for your ongoing commitment to our service men and women.