The White House announced yesterday that the First Family’s personal chef, Sam Kass, is leaving.
According to Wikipedia, Samuel David Kass, born 1980, grew up in a Jewish family in Hyde Park, Chicago, where the Obamas moved in 2005. He served as President Barack Obama’s Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy and Let’s Move! Executive Director.
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Kass is moving to New York.
The Let’s Move! Initiative is aimed at ending childhood obesity and promoting healthy eating habits among young Americans.
First Lady Michelle Obama said, “Sam leaves an extraordinary legacy of progress, including healthier food options in grocery store aisles, more nutritious school lunches, and new efforts that have improved how healthy food is marketed to our kids.”
Kass has been one of Michelle Obama’s key liaisons with the education community, helping her in her efforts to implement improved nutritional standards for school lunches.
Some students boycotted those lunches, and the Student Nutrition Association, representing cafeteria workers, has argued the standards are too much of a burden on schools and students.
According to CNN, Kass was blocked from speaking at the SNA’s annual convention last summer.
So it was a lot like Obamacare…
Kass is a close personal friend of the first family, who attended his wedding with MSNBC host Alex Wagner last August.
President Obama thanked Kass for the ” indelible mark” he has left on the White House.
“Over the years, Sam has grown from a close friend to a critical member of my team, and I am grateful for his outstanding work and look forward to seeing all that he will continue to achieve in the years ahead, ” the president said in a statement.