Manatee District Students Invited to White House

First Lady Michelle Obama has invited five students from B.D. Gullett Elementary in East Manatee to attend a Kitchen Garden Planting at the White House on Thursday, April 4.

The students – and school – are being recognized, because the Manatee District and Gullett Elementary have made a commitment to offering students healthier foods and for emphasizing the role of physical activity. Gullett Elementary is located at 12125 44th Ave. East.

On Thursday, April 4, Mrs. Obama will join school children from Florida and across the country to plant the White House Kitchen Garden for the fifth year in a row. Mrs. Obama planted a vegetable garden on the South Lawn to initiate a national conversation around the health and well being of our nation – a conversation that evolved into her Let’s Move! initiative to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation.

This year, Mrs. Obama invited children from schools that have made exceptional improvements to school lunches through implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

Members of the media will imeet and speak with the students who will make the trip, as well as with Superintendent Rick Mills, Principal Kathy Hayes, Food Service Director Sandy Ford and Food Service staff at Gullett Elementary Tuesday, April 2, at 2 p.m.

Gullett Elementary offers at least one salad entrée every day, whole grain wraps and other healthy recipes, each of which are taste-tested by the kids. Fresh fruits and vegetables are available to students every day, and nutrition education and physical activity programming is a school priority.

Gullett uses gardening as a learning opportunity for students, and school food and nutrition program teaches students about planting, growing, and tasting vegetables to give students a better understanding of nutritious food and to promote healthy school meals.   

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