Celebrating Eight Years of Progress towards a Healthier America

Over the past eight years, this Administration has had a consistent focus on food, nutrition, and physical activity--and it shows. Today, backyard gardens are in vogue, counting steps is common, and it’s often easy to swap fries for broccoli.  This progress didn’t happen overnight and it didn’t happen by itself; it is the result of dedicated people from diverse backgrounds and wide-ranging interests all across the country working together, for years and years, with our nation’s health and our children’s future as a shared priority.

Whether you are a mayor who has championed walking school buses or an educator who embraced breakfast in the classroom, an academic who has worked to measure how SNAP affects children’s chance at success or an advocate for a more transparent food system, a company that’s reformulated your products so they are healthier or a restaurant using less salt, a federal civil servant who has been involved in changing federal policies or a mom whose kids are eating more whole grains than they used to:  You have reason to be proud. 

We have published a record of progress made during this Administration in an easy-to-access format that serves as a reminder of what we have accomplished, as well as what remains to be done.   Each bullet represents years of work and has touched the lives of millions of Americans.  A few highlights include:

• Establishing practical, science-based nutrition standards for school meals
• Modernizing the Nutrition Facts label to help consumers make healthier choices
• Updating the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in 2010 and 2015 to reflect the latest body of science and encourage healthy eating patterns
• Creating MyPlate and its Spanish-language version MiPlato, an easy to understand icon that helps Americans make healthier food choices
• Requiring the posting of calorie information on menus of chain restaurants with 20 or more locations and vending machines
• Improving food safety to ensure the U.S food supply is safe by shifting the focus from responding to contamination to preventing it
• Helping families avoid food insecurity and hunger during the Great Recession with higher monthly SNAP benefits
• Incentivizing participants in SNAP to purchase more healthy fruits and vegetables through the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Program

No summary of the Administration’s record can convey the gratitude we have for each and every person who has been part of turning bold ideas for a healthier America into reality.   Thank you for your commitment, your partnership, and continuing to remain a champion for food, nutrition, and physical activity—there is plenty left to do.