Let's Move!

First Lady Melania Trump, who toured Japanese-inspired gardens in Florida with the wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, intends to keep the kitchen garden planted by Michelle Obama in 2009. An adviser told CNN, "As a mother and as the First Lady of this country, Mrs. Trump is committed to the preservation and continuation of the White House Gardens, specifically the First Lady's Kitchen Garden and the Rose Garden."

After she leaves the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama will continue to advocate for healthy food for children through the non-profit Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), which works with food companies to improve nutrition content of food products and on labeling, Reuters reported.

First Lady Michelle Obama "planted a garden, waged snappy social media campaigns, and worked behind the scenes with researchers, lawmakers, heads of government departments, schools, and food giants to quietly change what Americans eat," says Vox. Former critics regard her advocacy as "brilliant" and a "godsend," writes Julia Belluz in the story, which coincides with the final harvest by the Obama administration of the kitchen garden on the South Lawn of the White House.

An art teacher invited to the groundbreaking for the White House kitchen garden in March 2009 was inspired to co-found a nonprofit, DC Greens, that is involved in many of Washington's healthful-food-access programs, says the Washington Post. Sarah Holway, the teacher, and a friend, Lauren Biel, started DC Greens in 2009 and now have 12 full-time employees.

The White House named Debra Eschmeyer, co-founder of FoodCorps, as the new executive director of the Let's Move! initiative of First Lady Michelle Obama against childhood obesity.

Sam Kass, nutrition policy advisor at the White House and executive director of the Let's Move! initiative against childhood obesity, is leaving the White House, says the Wall Street Journal.

Sam Kass holds a variety of titles - White House chef, food policy advisor, executive director of the "Let's Move" initiative, says the New York Times in a profile story ahead of Kass' wedding this weekend.

First Lady Michelle Obama rallied support for healthier school meals during a "kids state dinner" at the White House, saying to students and parents at the meal "you all have a right to expect that your hard-earned tax dollars will be spent on food that meets basic nutrition standards. It's as simple as that," she said in a transcript.

At a meeting with school nutrition leaders, First Lady Michelle Obama said proposals in Congress to scale back nutrition standards were "unacceptable to me, not just as First Lady, but also as a mother." The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to vote on Thursday on a USDA funding bill that would waive for one year the requirement for healthier meals if schools show they lost money on their food programs for six months.

First Lady Michelle Obama will stress the need "to protect and advance the tremendous progress that has been made" in school meals during a meeting this afternoon, according to the White House. School leaders and other experts have been invited to the White House to discuss school meals.

First Lady Michelle Obama and AgSec Vilsack announced new school food rules that would phase out advertising of junk foods and sodas in schools, a follow-on to provisions that require schools to serve healthier meals.

The administration may announce later this week the first update to the Nutrition Facts labels that appear on food packages, said Politico's Morning Ag newsletter.

Scheduled for Tuesday morning at the White House is an announcement by the First Lady and AgSec Vilsack "on school wellness and to highlight the incredible progress being made in school health environments across the country."