Secretary Ann Veneman helped launch the USDA's HealthierUS School Challenge initiative at a kickoff for National School Lunch Week last month. Speaking at William Walker Elementary School in Portland, OR, Veneman said the Challenge's goal is to help children develop lifelong healthy eating and physical activity habits and to help encourage schools and parents to continue promoting healthy lifestyles for children.
"Across the country, schools, families and communities are working to fight childhood obesity," she noted. "They are finding new and exciting ways to encourage healthy eating
habits and physical activity. The HealthierUS School Challenge provides an exciting new incentive for schools to take increasingly bold steps to address the problems of childhood overweight and obesity."
The School Challenge is an extension of President Bush's Healthier US initiative that encourages all Americans to eat a nutritious diet and become physically active each day. It is designed to build upon USDA's Team Nutrition program.
