McAllen, Texas – Commissioner Veronica Whitacre joined First Lady Michelle Obama and representatives from the National League of Cities (NLC) at the White House September 16 for an event honoring communities for participating in the Let's Move! Cities, Towns and Counties (LMCTC) initiative.
The First Lady announced that 500 cities, towns and counties, including McAllen, have committed to the five goals in the LMCTC initiative since July 2012. LMCTC is a key part of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative and helps local officials, their staff and communities ensure all children grow up healthy and have the ability to reach their full potential.
McAllen is part of a growing national movement to build healthier communities and ensure that the health and well being of young people today and that of future generations is a priority. The City of McAllen has joined the USDA in partnership for the MyPlate program with goals of promoting healthy dietary guidelines within our community.
“We are seeing more runners, more cyclists, so many more people embracing a new lifestyle of living because the City of McAllen went full force in promoting the Let’s Move! Initiative,” said Whitacre.
At Wednesday’s event, the First Lady also recognized the 52 communities including McAllen, that have achieved gold medals in each of the five goal areas, which include providing healthy school meals, opportunities for physical activity during and outside of school, and healthier early care and education programs.
The 500 cities, towns and counties honored come from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. To date, approximately 80 million Americans live in a city, town or county participating in LMCTC.
For more information on the achievements by LMCTC communities, visit www.healthycommunitieshealthyfuture.org/spotlights/.
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