St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford challenges Fuel Up to Play 60 participants to a milk drinking competition during the Student Ambassador Summit in Washington, D.C. (Photo Courtesy of fueluptoplay60.com)

As students across the country get back in school and we gear up for Monday Night Football, the Fuel Up to Play 60 program is ready for another action-packed year of nutrition and fitness events. An initiative that encourages kids of all ages to be healthy and active, the overall goal of the program is to tackle childhood obesity. Read more »

RA Ludwig, Texas Department of Agriculture Todd Staples, Deion Sanders and Former NFL Athlete/Hall of Famer review activities that are planned for the children at Sanders’ youth camp.

On July 6^th, I attended an event to kick-off this season’s Summer Food Service Program in Texas and to celebrate the state’s third annual “Mayor’s Challenge” to end child hunger during the summer. The event was held at NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders’ youth camp in Duncanville, Texas. Read more »

Children pose for a picture with Dallas Cowboys Sean Lee.

Celebrations always seem bigger in Texas. And the one on February 25, at Brawner Intermediate School in Granbury, Texas, was no exception.  The event  recognized the school’s invaluable partnership with dairy farmers, the Fuel Up to Play 60 program and USDA, who teamed to make an unprecedented pledge to improve health and fitness of kids across the country.  The school’s efforts are an integral component of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative and just one example of the public-private partnerships that are critical to solving the challenges we face. Read more »

What do dairy farmers, NFL stars, and the Secretary of Agriculture have in common? They all braved the winter weather and traveled to the site of Super Bowl XLV to support the Fuel Up to Play 60 (FUTP60) program. FUTP60 conducted a kids’ football clinic at the NFL Experience, an interactive theme park at the Dallas Convention Center. The clinic, aimed at kids,  focused on the fundamentals to improve nutrition and physical activity in their schools and personal lives. Read more »

Cross posted from the Let’s Move! blog:

Today I had the honor of joining some of our nation’s principal thought-leaders at the site of Super Bowl XLV in Dallas, Texas, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that outlines an unprecedented private-public partnership committed to child health and wellness.  The co-signers included myself, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NDC CEO Thomas Gallagher and Gen YOUth Foundation CEO Alexis Glick.  During the event, I unveiled a new television public service announcement (PSA) featuring a local favorite, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, that encourages youth to participate in the Fuel Up to Play 60 program.  The PSA was developed by the Ad Council in collaboration with Let’s Move!, USDA, NFL, NFL Player Association, and National Dairy Council, and will be distributed to stations nationwide this week. Read more »

The USDA, the National Football League and the National Dairy Council (NDC) teamed up today for a event in New York City to promote their joint Fuel Up to Play 60 child nutrition campaign.

Since October, the NFL and NDC have made a major effort to get children to be more active in their daily lives, specifically promoting a 60 minute a day exercise program every child in America. Play 60 is already active in more than 58,000 public schools, 60% of the nation’s 96,000 public schools. The program empowers children in grades 4-10 to “fuel-up” with nutrition-rich foods such low-fat dairy products, fruits, and vegetables so they have energy necessary to play for 60 minutes of physical activity a day.

Today’s event was held at Central Park East Middle School in Manhattan to formalize the partnership between the USDA, NFL, and the NDC. Secretary Vilsack, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Dairy Management, Inc. CEO Thomas Gallagher, former Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher, and many others were in attendance.

Jacksonville Jaguars All-Pro Maurice Jones-Drew headlined the event, along with other NFL players including the New York Giants tight end Kevin Boss, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall and Chicago Bears guard Roberto Garza. The event allowed students and school officials to practice exercise and identify healthy eating habits and nutritious food choices with visiting officials and NFL players.

Childhood obesity is one of the greatest public health crises facing the United States and the USDA is making every effort to make sure that today’s children are not the first American generation to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Programs like Fuel Up to Play 60 can be extremely beneficial in children’s lives and directly impact their future. This program empowers youth in this country to have a voice in changing their eating and exercise habits. Efforts like this show how the government and private sector can work together successfully to solve real problems