In her Chicago Sun-Times column, Mary Mitchell says that Michelle Obama is sure to help draw national attention to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's food-desert campaign. She will join him on Oct. 25 when he presides over a food-access summit.
Emanuel, a master strategist, has found a way to link his own pet project to first lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative.
On Oct. 25, the mayor will preside over a food access summit with the country's most recognizable symbol of healthy living at his side.
The first lady, who has made ending childhood obesity her signature issue, is scheduled to host the summit.
Her superstar status will give Emanuel's "food desert" a national boost.
"There will be mayors from 10 cities coming and CEOs of grocery stores and pharmacies, and leaders in urban agriculture coming," the mayor told me on Thursday.
"We intend to share ideas on how to deal with this both from an economic-development, job-growth and public-health standpoint. Six or seven months ago we were exploring this. We’ve gone from the back of the pack to one of the top cities at the front of the pack," he said.
Read Mary Mitchell's entire column at the Chicago Sun-Times.