Subway joins Michelle Obama in Let's Move three-year partnership



Subway has joined Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign to get kids to eat more fruit and vegetables

The first lady announced the three-year, $41 million campaign today at a Washington DC Subway outlet



Subway will offer a kids' menu that meets government standards, including apples and milk or water as default beverage

Former Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, NFL player Justin Tuck, retired gymnast Nastia Lukin and brand ambassador Jared Fogle were also present

Mrs Obama ate a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread and chatted with school kids at the event

Michelle Obama has a new partner in her campaign to get kids to eat more fruits and vegetables.



The Subway sandwich chain will spend $41 million over three years to encourage children to eat more food that doesn't come from a box, the first lady announced Thursday at one of the Connecticut-based company's restaurants just north of the White House.



Subway will also offer a kids' menu that mirrors federal standards for school lunches, including offering apples on the side and low-fat or nonfat plain milk or water as a default beverage.

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Moving: First Lady Michelle Obama, along with Michael Phelps, speaks at an event to announce a commitment by Subway restaurants to promote healthier choices to kids January 23, 2014 in Washington, DC

Lunchtime: First lady Michelle Obama orders a turkey sandwich at the event as school children line up behind her

Speaking as a parent, Mrs Obama said Subway's commitment will help moms and dads choose healthy food for their kids. Its kids' menu will help eliminate the worry some parents feel about the choices they have to make when eating out, she said.



'Every single item meets the highest nutrition standards,' the first lady said before she went to the counter and ordered a turkey on whole wheat bread with spinach, peppers, and oil and vinegar dressing.



She paid the $4.40 tab with a $20 bill and scarfed down her lunch while chatting with a group of local elementary school students who had been invited for the announcement.



Healthy choice: First lady Michelle Obama orders a turkey sandwich with spinach and peppers from retired American artistic gymnast Nastia Lukin

Partnership: Michelle Obama sits down to lunch in a Washington DC Subway restaurant

Some of Subway's famous celebrity endorsers also were present, including Olympians Nastia Lukin, who prepared Mrs Obama's sandwich, and Michael Phelps, along with New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck and Jared Fogle.



Fogle gained fame in a series of TV commercials years ago in which he described losing 245 pounds while eating a steady diet of Subway sandwiches, plus walking.



Subway's commitment is 'a natural extension of what we do,' Tony Pace, Subway's chief marketing officer, said in a telephone interview.



The chain offers a line of lean-meat and vegetable sandwiches that have been certified by the American Heart Association, as well as a trio of breakfast sandwiches with fewer than 200 calories apiece.



Pace said people are becoming more aware of the importance of eating healthier.



Subway's announcement follows a summit on food marketing to kids that Mrs Obama held at the White House last fall. At the time, she urged food and beverage makers, media and entertainment companies, and others to do more to promote healthier foods to children.



Breaking bread: First lady Michelle Obama chats with school kids over sandwiches at the event to announce Subway's partership with Mrs Obama's Let's Move campaign

On board: Subway ambassador and 18-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps (left) joins the First Lady Michelle Obama, Justin Tuck (right) and local area kids for lunch at a Subway

A month after the September gathering, Mrs Obama announced that the nonprofit organization that produces TV's 'Sesame Street' had agreed to let the produce industry use Elmo, Big Bird and its other furry characters free of charge in its kid-focused advertising.

Sam Kass, a White House chef and executive director of the first lady's campaign against childhood obesity, told The Associated Press that Subway was 'raising the bar for what a responsible, quick-service restaurant can do to help support the health of the nation.'

