This Week’s White House Latino Update

Press Release:

Buenas Tardes!

Last Thursday in Tampa, Florida, First Lady Michelle Obama joined Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic-owned U.S. food company, to announce a partnership to promote MiPlato, an effort to help educate Latino families and households about healthy eating. MiPlato, the Spanish version of MyPlate, is the new food group symbol that replaced the old food pyramid and provides a visual reminder to families about how they can make healthy meal choices.

As part of the partnership, Goya Foods is committing resources to promote MiPlato with easy “how-to’s” designed to promote proper portions at mealtime. Healthy eating is a cornerstone of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative to end childhood obesity.

“Today’s announcement is what Let’s Move! is really all about – folks from every sector of our society stepping up and coming together on behalf of our kids. That’s what we have seen right from the very beginning in the Hispanic community and in every part of our country,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. To read more about Mi Plato or My Plate click here.

First Lady Michelle Obama participates in a Let’s Move! Initiative event with Aimee Busquet and Goya Foods CEO Bob Unanue at National Supermarket in Tampa, Fla., Jan. 26, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)

Also last week, President Obama laid out a Blueprint for an America Built to Last in his State of the Union address, calling for action to help responsible borrowers and support a housing market recovery. This week the President put forward a plan that uses a broad range of tools to help homeowners stay in their homes, and that supports middle-class families and our economic recovery. To read President Obama’s plan to help responsible homeowners and heal the housing market, click here.

On Monday, The President also announced a blueprint for keeping college affordable and within reach for all Americans. President Obama believes that to reach the national goal of leading the world with the highest share of college graduates by 2020, we must make college more affordable. To read President Obama’s blueprint on making college more affordable, click here.  

To read President Obama’s complete Blueprint for an America Built to Last click here. To read it in Spanish click here.

We also want to share some important agency updates that will directly impact the Latino community and heritage across the nation in the areas of health care, agriculture, and labor. Here’s the recap:

 

 

 

Agency Updates

The Justice Department reached a settlement agreement with the Mercer County School
On February 1, 2012 the Justice Department reached a settlement with the district’s cooperation. The Department of Justice conducted an extensive examination of the district’s English Language Learner (ELL) program to determine whether the district’s ELL students were receiving adequate services. To read more, click here.

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Updated and Improved Process to Resolve Discrimination Claims of Hispanic and Women Farmers
On January 25, 2012 Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced improvements to a process announced last February to resolve the claims of Hispanic and women farmers and ranchers who allege that they were discriminated against when seeking USDA farm loans. To read more about Secretary’s Vilsack’s announcement click here. To download USDA public service announcements in English and Spanish click here.

CFPB adopts rule to protect consumers sending money internationally
On January 20, 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) adopted a rule that will increase protections for consumers who transfer money internationally. To learn more click here.

Coinciding with Presidential Visit, Secretary Bryson Welcomes New Travel and Tourism Advisory Board Members
On January 19, 2012 Secretary of Commerce Bryson swore in 32 newly appointed members to the  U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (TTAB). Among those 32 advisory board members was Latino appointee, Mario González-Lafuente. To read more click here.

U.S. Department of Labor teams up with White House for Summer Jobs+ Initiative
President Obama and Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announced the Summer Jobs+ Initiative, a call-to-action for American business, nonprofits, and government to provide pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth in the summer of 2012. Over 180,000 commitments have been made to date by our partners – more than doubling the commitments made in 2011. To learn more click here.

Affordable Care Act holding insurers accountable for premium hikes in Arizona
On January 11, 2012 health insurance premium increases in five states were deemed “unreasonable” by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today. To read more, click here. To read in Spanish, click here.

Blog Highlights 

Advance Estimate of GDP for the Fourth Quarter of 2011
On January 27, 2012 The White House released a report that shows the economy posted its tenth straight quarter of positive growth, as real GDP (the total amount of goods and services produced in the country) grew at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter of last year.  To read more, click here.

Upcoming Conference Calls and Events

White House Call on President Obama’s Housing Announcement with Senior Administration Officials

• Date: Thursday, February 2nd
• Time: 4:00 p.m. EST
• Call-in number: (800) 230-1766                                        
• Title: White House Call on President’s Housing Announcment

White House Hispanic Community Action Summit in Tampa

• When: Friday, February, 3, 2012
• Time:  8:30am- 4:00pm EST
• Where:  The University of Tampa
  Vaughn Center, 9th Floor
  401 W. Kennedy Blvd.
  Tampa, FL 33606
• RSVP:   Click here

Upcoming Webinars

Help Us Feed Kids During the Summer
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program can help to fill the summer meal gap for low-income children.  Faith-based, community and private non-profit organizations can make a difference in the lives of hungry children by serving meals with SFSP, a federally funded program administered by states that reimburses organizations for meals served to children during the summer. USDA FNS will be providing webinar sessions, including an overview of the SFSP, resources and tools available to help get started with the SFSP, successful outreach practices and tips, and how to get involved.

To learn more and to register for one of their upcoming webinar sessions, click here.

USDA Summer Internship Program
The USDA will be hosting webinars on February 6-8th at 3:00pm to 4:30pm that will discuss Internship Programs and 2012 summer job opportunities. Students currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program in the fields of: Agriculture, Environment, Science, Mathematics, Statistics and Technology are eligible to apply. To learn more about how to register click here

Online Services from Social Security – in Spanish!
Please mark your calendar for this important webinar on Thursday, February 23, 2012, at 2:00 pm EST.  Social Security will present information about online services offered in Spanish and give you an opportunity to ask questions during a live interactive broadcast. You can apply online for Social Security retirement benefits, Medicare, and Extra Help with the cost of Medicare prescription drugs. To read more in Spanish click here.

Get Involved

Get involved with the First Lady’s Mi Plato initiative. On Thursday, the First Lady launched Mi Plato, USDA’s new food icon in Spanish, that provides dietary guidelines for healthy eating and living. We would love to partner together and collaborate on this important initiative.

If you’re interested in partnering with the Administration, we encourage you to join CNPP’s Nutrition Communicators Network as a community partner if you have not already done so. Please click here to sign up. To get more information about Mi Plato in Spanish click here.

Have a great weekend!

Julie Rodriguez
Associate Director
White House | Office of Public Engagement

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