The Hagstrom Report

Agriculture News As It Happens

Navigation

First lady continues school lunch push as she urges people to drink water

2014_0722_WH_DrinkUp
Bottled water arranged in the shape of a droplet on the White House lawn surrounds the logo of the Partnership for a Healthier America’s “Drink Up” campaign to encourage people to drink more water. “Water is the best drink for you,” First Lady Michelle Obama told the children who unveiled the logo. “It keeps you hydrated; it's nutritious; your body needs it to keep you moving, especially on days like today.” (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)


First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated the success of her “Drink Up” campaign to urge people to drink water — and then used that example to make the case one more time that schools can serve healthy food and convince children to eat it if the people in charge of school meals try hard enough.

At an event in the State Dining Room, the first lady said she was “thrilled” to announce that less than one year after she started a campaign with the Partnership for a Healthier America to convince people to drink more water, bottled water sales have gone up 3 percent among people who have seen online ads related to the campaign, and water consumption in the country has jumped nearly 3 percent.

She also announced that several corporations, the California Endowment and California municipalities have joined Partnership’s efforts to make safe drinking water available. (See following story.)

The first lady is honorary chair of the PHA.

The White House issued a news release from Nielsen Catalina Solutions, the firm that monitored the water-purchasing habits of households exposed to online “Drink Up” ads during the 16-week period between September 12, 2013 and December 31, 2013. The research firm’s analysis showed that the ads had had the biggest impact on people 25 to 34, regardless of income.

Some nutritionists have said privately that while they wished the first lady had launched a campaign against sweetened sodas, the White House was unwilling to involve her in a negative campaign.

No one today mentioned whether the increased consumption of water had resulted in a decrease in any other beverages, although sales of both sweetened and diet drinks have been going down while bottled water sales have been going up.

Some environmentalists also said they wished she had emphasized tap water over bottled water.

2014_0722_WH_Michelle Obama
First Lady Michelle Obama announced that bottled water sales have increased since the Partnership for a Healthier America’s water campaign started. (Alex Gangitano/The Hagstrom Report)

But today Obama said that the Drink Up campaign had “one simple goal — to get kids and families excited about drinking water” and that “to achieve that goal, the campaign brought together folks from every part of the water community — tap water, filtered water, bottled water. It was like the ‘who’s who’ of water all here to help with Drink Up.”

She also stressed that “some of the brightest minds in advertising and research, and some of the biggest media and Internet companies as well as celebrities and elected officials from across the country” had launched the advertising campaign involving public service announcements, branded re-useable water bottles and social media.

But Obama quickly switched to the topic that has occupied much of her time recently: the campaign to keep the healthier school meal rules that the Agriculture Department has promulgated, but that the School Nutrition Association is proposing to weaken.

“If we can achieve that kind of success in marketing something as simple as water, then I know we can do the exact same thing for any healthy product — whether that’s fruits and veggies, or whole grains, or lean meats and dairy products, we can get kids to enjoy these things, too,” Obama said.

“And let’s be clear: What I’m talking about today doesn’t just apply to the companies who make these products. Any organization or institution can get creative about promoting healthy products. And that’s particularly true when we’re talking about our kids.”

“Just take the example of our school lunch program. Ninety percent of our schools are now successfully serving healthier lunches to our kids all over this country. And in a survey released just this week by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, it showed that a strong majority of school nutrition directors report that their programs are running smoothly, and that kids — particularly elementary school kids, the youngest kids — are truly enjoying these new healthy lunches. Go figure.”

Obama also alluded to the fact that some school food service directors have said they are succeeding with the new rules, while the SNA leadership cites USDA statistics that show more than 1 million of the 32 million students eating school meals have dropped out of the program since the new rules were put in place, causing financial problems for the schools.

“In a number of school districts, participation in the lunch program has actually risen,” Obama said. “And there’s a simple reason for that: It’s because those districts actually put some effort into marketing the new meals to the kids. They didn’t just sit back and say, well, the kids like junk food so let’s just give them junk food.

“Instead, they embraced higher standards and more nutritious options, and they worked hard to get the kids excited about them. They did taste tests. They came up with new recipes. They did everything they could to make healthy eating fun.”

Obama also repeated a theme that Janey Thornton, the Agriculture deputy undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services, used in a speech to the SNA last week: that it is the responsibility of school food service directors to teach students what to eat rather than pander to their tastes.

“Today, we’re seeing the results, especially among younger kids,” she said. “Guess what they’re doing. They’re adapting. They’re adapting. They’re getting used to healthier food, and they’re developing healthy habits early on that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. And that’s our job as adults. Being the adult in the room means we make responsible decisions for our kids even when it’s hard, and then we stick with it. We stick with it. Because in the end, we’re in charge — even if it doesn’t always feel that way. And no matter what, we don’t give up on our kids. And we don’t give up on their health and their futures.

“And when we stand firm, the grownups, when we get creative and innovative with the folks behind Drink Up, we know we can get kids to enjoy food and beverages that are good for them. As first lady, I’ve seen this happen in schools and communities across the country. And as a mother, I’ve seen it happen at my own kitchen table. So that’s why I know that we can do this. And I know that many of you have seen it, too.

“We need to keep moving forward on these issues,” she concluded. “We need to keep pushing to market healthy products to children and families. We need to keep working together within industries and across industries to help our kids lead healthier lives. And if we do all that, then I am confident — I continue to be confident that we can give our kids the bright, healthy futures they deserve.”

Drink Up
Partnership for a Healthier America