Reminding Parents and Kids to Start the Day with School Breakfast

Yolanda Reyes - Vice Principal, Janice Weston - Principal,Trina Linder - Cafeteria Manager, Yvonne Seiders - Asst. Director of Food Services

It’s National School Breakfast Week, and today I continued my campaign to remind children all across the great state of Texas about the importance of starting their day with a healthy, nutritious breakfast and the role of our dedicated farmers and ranchers.

I talked with Joe Bickett of FOX 7 News live from Lucy Reed Pre-Kindergarten School to showcase the quality meals that are available all across Texas. Every day in our state, over one million students participate in the national School Breakfast Program. But, we can do more to win the war on child obesity.

Parents and students must always remember that good grades start with good nutrition

You can watch my interview here:

Power Up with School Breakfast Public Service Announcement

As Texas Agriculture Commissioner, I have made it my focus to encourage Texas children to adopt the 3 E’s of Healthy Living – Education, Exercise and Eating Right. This simple concept will not only help children feel better and live longer, but will also assist us in battling a growing childhood obesity problem in our state.


I recently worked with C.D. Fulkes Middle School students in Round Rock to create a Public Service Announcement (PSA) that talks about the advantages of eating a healthy breakfast at school. The PSA, which is currently running on TV stations statewide, is really fun and features animated characters, Mr. Breakfast and YoGurl. You can watch the PSA here.

What the Economic Stimulus Means to Texas

Whether you are in favor of the federal stimulus package or against it, Congress has acted and President Obama has signed the economic stimulus bill into law.

As a result, Texas is poised to receive more than $16 million for the Texas Department of Agriculture’s nutrition and food distribution programs. Just over $8 million will help schools across Texas buy better cooking equipment, enabling them to prepare healthier meals, and to purchase additional refrigeration to hold more fresh produce, in turn helping TDA with its mission to curb childhood obesity.

Another $8 million or so will go to the Texas Commodity Assistance Program – a critical program that provides USDA commodities, such as fruits and vegetables, to underprivileged individuals through food banks and other emergency food services. This relief is coming at a time when food banks are seeing a heavier demand than usual.

The bottom line is the Texas economy is in much better shape than that of most states in the U.S. Still, no Texan is immune to the challenges our economy faces. That’s why TDA is working with agribusinesses, producers, lawmakers and other stakeholders to ensure the Texas agriculture industry is doing its part to keep Texas’ economy strong.

A Collaborative Effort to Fight Childhood Obesity

In Aggieland on Monday, I met with some of the leaders in the fight against childhood obesity. We brainstormed on ways to tackle the growing obesity problem in the Lone Star State.

Bill Ludwig, U.S. Department of Agriculture Southwest Region Administrator for Food Nutrition Services, coordinated the round-table discussion that included representatives from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Texas AgriLife Extension Family and Consumer Sciences, the Agatston Research Foundation and The OrganWise Guys health education program . We shared ideas on how to decrease obesity rates among our younger generations, and I am excited to say there are already some great efforts underway to help combat this terrible epidemic.

As you may already know, Texas ranks sixth in the nation in childhood obesity, and in 2005 Texas businesses spent an estimated $3.3 billion on costs related to obesity. This is a trend we must change.

Although Texas schools are already doing an outstanding job of fighting obesity, the realty is we are losing our children after school, during the weekends and in the summers. Through a collaborative effort we can all help Texas children by encouraging them to adopt the 3Es of Healthy Living: Education, Exercise and Eating right. These components are critical to winning the war on obesity.

The upcoming legislative session will give us many opportunities to make gains in our fight against obesity. To find out more about TDA’s request to the state legislature to implement healthy lifestyles for Texas children, visit www.tda.state.tx.us and look for the link on the right called Legislative Appropriations Request.

TDA appreciates all our partners and their investment in healthy lifestyles, and I hope we can work together to improve Texans’ health and end this obesity crisis.