Environment

The Obamas plan to plant a White House vegetable garden

by Amy Judd | March 20, 2009 at 09:03 am

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Michelle Obama will start digging the White House vegetable garden today, well not her personally but her staff will anyway. There has not been a vegetable garden on the grounds since Eleanor Roosevelt's garden during World War II.

As President Obama does not like beets, those will not be planted in the garden, however arugula will be.

The garden will provide some of the vegetables for the formal dinners at the White House, but most importantly Michelle Obama wants this to be an opportunity for children to learn and to teach them aout eating healthy, local fruit and vegetables.

In an interview in her office, Mrs. Obama said, “My hope is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities.”

A fifth grade from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington DC will help dig the garden that is 1,100 square feet. The shool already has a garden but these students will help expand that to the White House grounds.
Everyone, including the President himself, is expected to help weed the garden, however I wonder if he'll get his Secret Service men to do his share?
The main goal however is still to teach eating locally and growing local fresh food and promoting healthy eating.
The garden will consist of 55 kinds of vegetables, including cilantro, tomatilloes and hot peppers, as well as all different kinds of lettuce, spinach, kale, herbs and berries for their desserts. There will also be two hives for honey.
In the United States, there is currenlty one million community gardens, but with the new Obama garden, there could be a rise in popularity for this activity.