First Lady Touts Nutrition, Not Politics at Central Tampa Supermarket

Michelle Obama in Tampa. Five days before the . In a Hispanic supermarket. In a crucial state coveted for its Hispanic vote.

We know how this looks.

The timing of the event was hard to ignore, as was the cloud of punditry surrounding it. But the first lady stayed on message during a brief visit Thursday morning at at Waters and Armenia avenues. With her Let's Move! campaign against childhood obesity to promote, along with Goya Foods' MyPlate/MiPlato initiative, Obama seemed to have enough on her plate and avoided talking politics.

"When it comes to keeping their kids healthy," Obama said in this WFTS-Ch. 28 news footage, "Hispanic parents are facing pretty much the same challenges that everyone else is." And so Goya — the nation's largest Hispanic-owned food company — has co-opted the MyPlate campaign that Michelle Obama helped the USDA launch in June 2011, with MiPlato. MyPlate's core message about a balanced meal plate and portion control will be conveyed to the nation's Hispanic population, whose children suffer a higher rate of obesity than the national average, according to Leadership for Healthy Communities.

With MyPlate/MiPlato, the USDA's old food pyramid chart is replaced with a plate symbol that's divided into fruits, vegetables, protein, grains and dairy sections to represent daily food group targets.

"And that's what MiPlato is all about," Obama said in this Bay News 9 footage."It's a framework that any family can use. Any culture can interpret the plate in a way that's true to their traditions."

The audience of about 75 inside the supermarket included dignitaries such as Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, and Goya Foods president Bob Unanue. Outside a crowd of about 200 onlookers gathered, held back by police tape. 

One of them, Wanda Arnold of Tampa, said she had been waiting for a glimpse of the first lady for over an hour. "I have a great-grandson who's obese," Arnold said. "So I want to try to see what she says about him losing weight. I know she has her own garden at the White House, and I know she's promoting healthy eating for kids to lose weight."

Carri Nathan, a 56-year-old Tampa school teacher, said she came out "because I support the president and his wife and the issues they support. What we eat is extremely important. And by training that to the children first, you can do it with the broader population."

Obama waved from her SUV as her motorcade sped away from the supermarket. Several in the crowd waved back and cheered.