Jackson, MS—
Fast facts
- First lady tours walking trail, playground
- Joins roundtable discussion of Mississippi initiatives
- Spotlights several good ideas from DeSoto County
( Jackson, MS 3/3/2010) First lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" program aims to help children make better food choices and exercise more.
At the same time, Governor Barbour's "let's go walking" campaign does something similar for adults.
So, there's apparently no better place to show how communities are working to fight the obesity trend than in Mississippi.
Mississippi's record as being among state with the biggest obesity problem seemed a natural place for the first lady's visit, not only for the numbers, but how the state has begun to tackle the problem. "That's why I wanted to come to Mississippi. I picked this state because of all the creative things that are already happening here." said Mrs. Obama in a speech to invited guests at Brinkley Middle School.
She discussed many of the state's plans in a roundtable discussion with leaders from around the state, including Northwest Mississippi Community Foundation head Tom Pittman. "They really wanted to know what we're doing in the schools and what we pointed out is we're trying to help out with community support with what the schools are doing." said Pittman.
And DeSoto County's community-wide approach resonated with the White House, which also invited Hernando pastor Michael Minor to attend this big meeting, due to his efforts at his church. "It's called 'healthy congregations'. It's all about health, wellness, physical fitness, a walking track around the church and the biggest part of all, putting down the fried chicken and eating healthy food." said the reverend Mr. Minor.
The DeSoto connection doesn't end there. Mrs. Obama herself pointed out that aside from the schools and churches in DeSoto, Cities are getting involved. "Lots of good examples, like up in Hernando, Mayor Chip Johnson working to build more sidewalks and to bring weekly farmers' markets to town." said the First Lady.
Mrs. Obama says she hopes to take some of Mississippi's good ideas, especially North Mississippi's good ideas, around the country, something Governor Haley Barbour says he's proud of. "Having the first lady as the person to be a catalyst, a leader for a healthy lifestyle and wellness and prevention is the right thing." said Barbour.
Mrs. Obama said her "Let's Move" initiative aims to eliminate childhood obesity in a generation. If what's happening in Mississippi is any indication, some here say she may well reach that goal.
