At the Perry Family Health Center we are celebrating National Nutrition Month on Thursday, March 25 from 5-6pm with a class entitled, “Nutrition from the Ground Up: Eat Right!” where we will promote incorporating more whole grains, fruits and vegetables into one’s diet.
We are having food donated for the class by the very generous folks at Takoma Park Silver Spring Co-Op, making this a community-wide effort to increase healthy lifestyles and therefore life expectancy. When the donation was secured, the buzz around the clinic resulted in someone suggesting that we invite Michelle Obama, champion of the new Let’s Move campaign to combat childhood obesity and increase access to healthy, affordable food.
It may seem like a long shot to get Michelle Obama to travel the short mile and a half from the White House to the Perry School with one week’s notice, but yesterday when I started to do a little research I found out that the President and First Lady just postponed their trip to Indonesia so that President Obama could stay in country to do the final push for health care reform.
What are the odds that on the same day we decide to have First Lady Michelle Obama join our nutrition class her schedule opens up for the following week? It seems too good to be true, but it might not be.
That’s why we are doing everything we can to get her to come visit us at Perry next week. Initial inquiries have resulted in a form letter stating that these requests have to be made weeks in advance, but I think they can make an exception for health care and healthy eating alike! You can see my initial letter to Mrs. Obama below – If you have any advice, leads, ins or creative ideas please contact me at emilyroberts@gmail.com
First Lady Michelle Obama
Cc: Franny Starkey Sanguin
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mrs. Obama,
My name is Emily Roberts and I am a Community HealthCorps member in Washington, D.C. Community HealthCorps is a national AmeriCorps program that promotes health care for America’s underserved, while developing tomorrow’s health care workforce. I have been placed by the DC Primary Care Association at the Perry Family Health Center of Providence Hospital, located at 128 M St. NW.
Here at Perry, we serve the uninsured, underinsured and underserved populations in a primary care setting with a comprehensive community-based, family-centered approach. With preventative care in mind, we are beginning a monthly health education series in 2010, with our inaugural class focusing on incorporating more whole grains, fruits and vegetables into one’s diet.
Together with Perry Nutritionist Josephina Giron, this class will include a meal donated to us by the Takoma Park Silver Spring Co-Op , information about how to cook delicious, healthy food on a budget and why whole foods are so critical to a healthy lifestyle.
This class will combine the themes of healthy food access and overall healthcare. I know that this is an important issue to you. Americans everywhere in all communities are becoming more conscious of health disparities related to food justice and your Let’s Move campaign has put a much needed spotlight on the cause.
I know that your schedule just became clear due to President Obama wanting to stay in the country to continue to push for health care reform. We invite you to join us next week, Thursday March 25 at 5:00pm in our celebration of national nutrition month. We really hope that you can lend your support to this important project and help us publicize this issue in our community, in D.C. and around the country.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you so much,
Emily Roberts
