Savannah Chef Headed to White House

She's dedicated herself to training cooking students for more than 28 years. Now her teaching skills have gotten her an invitation to the White House.

Marvis Hinson was one of only 100 chefs from around the country chosen to be part of the "Chefs Move To Schools" program.

Hinson has worked for 28 years in the food industry, including training chefs at Savannah Tech.

Now she will be part of the First Lady's "Let's Move!" campaign. A program to promote kids eating better. Hinson says its exactly what she wanted to do in retirement.

"Something to give back to the community and this gives me an opportunity to do that," said Hinson. "I don't have to sit back and find somebody to work with. Now everybody should know that i'm available, so I expect to have a lot of calls for that."

Hinson will travel to the White House Friday for the program kickoff. and then head to schools around the area to help teach kids about better nutrition.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., May 28, 2010—In May, the American Culinary Federation (ACF), the largest professional chefs organization in the U.S., was asked to play an integral part in Michelle Obama’s latest Let’s Move! campaign initiative, the Chefs Move to Schools program, which will be run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and led by Sam Kass, White House assistant chef and the food initiative coordinator. More than 50 ACF chefs will participate in the program’s kickoff at the White House Friday, June 4.

“We are going to need everyone’s time and talent to solve the childhood obesity epidemic, and our nation’s chefs have tremendous power as leaders on this issue because of their deep knowledge of food and nutrition and their standing in the community. I want to thank them for joining the Let’s Move! campaign,” said Michelle Obama in a White House blog posting May 13.

Chefs nationwide will get involved in the program by adopting a school in their community and working with teachers, parents, school nutrition professionals and administrators to help educate kids about food and nutrition. ACF, the National Restaurant Association and Share Our Strength will work with a select group of chefs participating in a pilot launch of the program over the summer. Volunteers will begin working in schools in the fall.

“The American Culinary Federation is honored to have been chosen as one of the key organizations in this White House initiative,” said Michael Ty, CEC, AAC, ACF national president. “The chefs who will participate in the pilot launch [noted below] were selected for their previous volunteerism with ACF and our Chef & Child Foundation. We are pleased that so many of our chefs will be at the White House for the kickoff, gathered with like-minded chefs who are passionate about promoting proper nutrition and fighting the obesity epidemic in America.”