Children In Poverty And The Let's Move Campaign

When thinking of poverty, numerous people first think of third world countries like Africa. What people may not know is the amount of people living in the United States in poverty, specifically children. There are over sixteen million children living in poverty; the poverty line is considered to be below $23,550 a year for a family of four. To put this number into perspective, the amount of children living in poverty today is twenty-two percent of all children in the United States (“Child Poverty”). With such a large number of people in the country in fiscally unstable environments, it can easily be seen that they also are susceptible to other problems compared to those who are financially established; one major concern being obesity.

This campaign, launched by First Lady Michelle Obama, is aimed to solve the challenge of obesity in this generation’s children (“Let’s Move”). This campaign targets, not just the families, but also schools and communities to improve the environment for children to strive and become healthier. Starting with the family, the program discusses the important fact that children will eat better if they are surrounded by healthier food. Having the parents modeling good behavior and eating the healthier food influences the children and they too will eat the healthier food. They also include tips for how to eat healthier such as mixing vegetables into dishes, substituting fat-free milk or water instead of soda or other sweeter beverages, and substituting desserts for fruit, saving the “treats” for special occasions. In addition, eating as a family is seen to help with obesity because it creates structure in eating and decreases the snacking children have throughout the day (“Let’s Move”). In regards to school, by having the children participate in the National School Lunch Program, as well as the School Breakfast Program, the children are able to have a nutritious meal at a reduced cost or even free. Having options, such as a salad bar, and multiple options for children to choose from that are not just healthy but also delicious, will also help children see that eating healthy is not as atrocious as they perceived. Lastly, with the community in mind, the program, along with the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services, is providing financing to develop grocery stores, farmers markets and corner stores capable of supplying and selling healthy food in underserved communities to eliminate food deserts. Many markets are even participating in WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) and the