Hundreds of Chefs Learn How to 'Adopt a School' at Share Our Strength's Panel Discussion With Assistant White House Chef Sam Kass, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Share Our Strength's Billy Shore

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Jun 03, 2010, 09:31 ET

Chefs Prepare for Kick Off of First Lady Michelle Obama's 'Chefs Move to Schools' School Nutrition Campaign

WASHINGTON, June 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Friday, June 4, 2010 at 12:00 PM, Share Our Strength^®,the leading nonprofit organization ending childhood hunger in America by connecting kids to the nutritious food they need to lead active, healthy lives, will join First Lady Michelle Obama in convening hundreds of chefs from across the country on the South Lawn of the White House for the launch of Chefs Move to Schools.

In anticipation of this event, Share Our Strength will be hosting an educational breakfast panel entitled Healthy Schools, Healthy Kids: How Chefs Can Make a Difference, at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC from 8:00 AM-10:00 AM. Key speakers include Share Our Strength Founder and Executive Director Billy Shore, White House Assistant Chef Sam Kass, and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Chefs pledging to adopt a school in their community will learn how to navigate the school environment, find out how to get started in the schools, and hear success stories from volunteer chefs who have made a big impact in their local schools.

This legion of enthusiastic chefs will then gather with the First Lady to demonstrate their commitment to working in our schools to ensure that kids get the nutritious food they need to thrive.

Leveraging the momentum of Let's Move!, Mrs. Obama's campaign to solve the childhood obesity epidemic, Chefs Move to Schools focuses on the integral role chefs play in their communities, a core belief shared by Share Our Strength. Chefs Move to Schools is a national initiative that encourages chefs to adopt a school in their community and serve as a healthy food educator and resource for the kids, parents, teachers and food service staff.

Run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the program will pair chefs with participating schools in their communities to create healthy meals that meet the schools' dietary guidelines and budgets, and to teaching young people about nutrition and making balanced and healthy choices.

"The Chefs Move to Schools and the First Lady's Let's Move! Campaigns are a natural complement to Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign," said Bill Shore, Founder and Executive Director, Share Our Strength. "With the Administration's support, we will ensure that all kids in America receive the nutritious food they need to lead healthy, active lives—and we can put an end to two epidemics at the same time: childhood hunger and childhood obesity."

Share Our Strength was selected to recruit and engage chefs to join this national effort by White House Assistant Chef and Food Initiatives Coordinator Sam Kass. Share Our Strength and the First Lady's Let's Move! Campaign share a key goal: to connect children with the nutritious food they need to lead healthy, active lives.

Through its 25-year engagement with the food industry nationwide, and its role as the charity of choice for Food Network, Share Our Strength was able to engage hundreds of chefs including Food Network chefs Cat Cora, Aaron McCargo, Jr., Anne Burrell, Aaron Sanchez and Ellie Krieger; chefs Marcus Samuelson, Todd Gray, John Besh, Bryan Voltaggio, Cathal Armstrong, Robert Wiedamaier, Bruce Sherman, Jody Adams, Carla Hall, Bill Telepan and John Currence, among many others. Also slated to appear at this White House event are numerous chefs who volunteer to teach Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline® healthy cooking courses nationwide.

Share Our Strength's Healthy Schools, Healthy Kids: How Chefs Can Make a Difference breakfast and panel is sponsored by: American Express, Birds Eye Foods, Campbell Soup Company, ConAgra Foods, Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), Mission Foods, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Quaker Oats and Weight Watchers.

About Share Our Strength®

Share Our Strength®, a national nonprofit, is ending childhood hunger in America by connecting children with the nutritious food they need to lead healthy, active lives. Through its No Kid Hungry™ campaign—a national effort to end childhood hunger in America by 2015—Share Our Strength ensures children in need are enrolled in effective federal nutrition programs, invests in community organizations fighting hunger, teaches families how to cook healthy meals on a budget, and builds public-private partnerships to end hunger, both nationally and at the state level. Working closely with the culinary industry and relying on the strength of its volunteers, Share Our Strength hosts innovative culinary fundraising events and develops pioneering cause marketing campaigns that support No Kid Hungry.

Visit Strength.org to get involved in the No Kid Hungry campaign.

For more information about Chefs Move to Schools, please visit letsmove.org.