The run-up to President Bill Clinton’s appearance on “Rachael Ray” today has been considerable.  Courtesy of USA Today, for example, we now know that the former president and the current Secretary of State have chatted about taking tango lessons after Hillary Clinton no longer is carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.

We’re looking forward to tuning in to today’s episode of the show  (please see local listings) to hear the former president and celebrity chef talk about their shared goal of reducing childhood obesity and promoting healthier school lunches.

Mr. Clinton’s foundation, the William J. Clinton Foundation, teamed up with the American Heart Association back in 2005 to form the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to improve children’s health by concentrating on places that can really make a difference -- including schools. Rachael Ray and her Yum-O organization and the Alliance have collaborated on a number of things, including school lunch recipes, some of which come with names sure to make third graders giggle-- “Orange You Glad It’s Glazed Chicken and Noodles’’ and “Cheesy Mac & Trees.”

We at Sip & Savor can say that our industry, too, was proud to work with Mr. Clinton and the Alliance in implementing national School Beverage Guidelines.  Just last year, President Clinton announced at a news conference that we had successfully implemented the guidelines in schools across America.  We removed full-calorie soft drinks from all schools and replaced them with lower-calorie, smaller-portion beverage choices, driving a dramatic 88 percent reduction in beverage calories shipped to schools since 2004.

Together, we successfully changed the beverage landscape in schools across the country.  We hope you’ll tune in today to hear what Rachael Ray and the former president have to say.