Cross-posted from the Let's Move blog
By Sammi Citron, USDA Intern
Reading a Scholastic book, or attending a Scholastic book fair are both rites of passage equal in importance to the first day you walked to school by yourself, or the first time dividing fractions finally made sense. A long-standing tradition within the book-savvy crowd is the Scholastic Kid Press Corps, a group of adolescents eager to be on the front lines of reporting well before they hit their teen years. One of these kids is Jonas Hosmer.
Many twelve-year-olds might be nervous to conduct an interview with someone like Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, but not Jonas Hosmer – a preteen who declares a trip to the hobby store as the ultimate field trip and who dabbles in creating and editing videos in his very own production company – co-owned with his sister and friend – Apple Productions.
“I’m very curious, and I have an open mind to what’s going on around me,” boasts Jonas. “I enjoy interviewing people and learning more about them. Unlike some kids, I’m very comfortable talking with adults and kids, no matter who they are."
With Jonas’s knack for interviewing, he’s a perfect fit as a member of the Scholastic Kids Press Corps., one of fifty-four student reporters located around the nation writing for Scholastic News and Junior Scholastic magazines. These magazines are featuring stories written by Hosmer and other reporters; the magazines are distributed in U.S. classrooms grades one through twelve with a combined circulation of 8 million and a reach of 25 million students, parents and teachers.
Since childhood obesity is fast becoming one of the most pressing concerns facing kids across the country, Jonas lined up questions for Secretary Vilsack that were aimed to uncover the issues related to school nutrition and ways the Obama administration is working to remedy the problem.
Like any good reporter, Jonas came prepared with a voice recorder and set to work. Seated in Secretary Vilsack’s office, the two chatted and Jonas asked questions like “why is it important for kids to have healthier lunch choices at school?,” and “how is the Let’s Move! campaign working to improve the nutrition and quality of school lunches?”
Outlining the Obama administration’s objectives, Secretary Vilsack helped Jonas to understand not only what kinds of changes kids will see in their school cafeterias when classes resume next fall, but also what steps will be taken to ensure a healthier school environment for the coming generations.
Secretary Vilsack pointed out that while improved school meals are critical to the nutrition and obesity prevention programs, another challenge lies in helping kids stay active and healthy outside of school.
When President Harry Truman signed the National School Lunch Act into effect 64 years ago, he said, “In the long view, no nation is healthier than its children,” and today, the Obama administration agrees. With the help of parents, teachers and administrators in schools throughout the country and students like Jonas, a new generation of leaders is picking up on the decades-old promise.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (left) granted Jonas Hosmer (right) a reporter with the Scholastic Kids Press Corps an interview on Wednesday, May 19, 2010
