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WASHINGTON - This year, the vegetables served at the White House will be as locally grown as possible--right on the South Lawn.
U.S.
first lady Michelle Obama joins White House assistant chef Sam Kass (L)
and 5th grade students from the Bancroft Elementary School during a
groundbreaking ceremony for the new White House Kitchen Garden in
Washington, March 20, 2009. The garden will grow about 25 varieties of
fruits and vegetables which will be harvested by the White House
kitchen for consumption at the White House. (REUTERS/Jason Reed)After
a campaign by gardeners and sustainable food activists, the First
Family has decided to dig up part of the White House grounds for a
vegetable garden. In a ceremony Friday, First Lady Michelle Obama and
local elementary school students will break ground for the project.
It's
part of the first lady's promotion of healthy food for her daughters,
Malia and Sasha, as well as for the nation. But like many parents, the
Obamas have had mixed results: Michelle Obama recently said a version
of "creamless" creamed spinach by White House executive chef Cristeta
Comerford still was a bit too "green" for the kids.
More than
100,000 people asked the president to plant a garden on the White House
lawn, according to Kitchen Gardeners International, a coalition of
gardeners whose mission is to inspire and teach people to grow their
own food. The group's Eat the View campaign to plant "high-impact
gardens in high-profile places" specifically urged the First Family to
plant an edible garden within the first 100 days of the Obama
administration.
Launched in February 2008 and spearheaded by
Roger Doiron, a gardener in Scarborough, Maine, the movement hoped to
have the president's family set the right example in terms of healthy
eating or "gardening for the greater good," as Doiron said.
"It
begins at home," he said. "That's where we start. And if we get a
number of people together carrying out these small actions it will
speak volumes and add up." Since the early 1990s, food-activist
pioneers such as Berkeley, Calif., restaurateur Alice Waters and author
Michael Pollan have lobbied for an "edible landscape" across the 16
acres of White House grounds.
While the Clintons did have a small
rooftop garden that grew vegetables and herbs and Laura Bush made sure
organic foods were served in the residence, this is the first
full-scale planting on the lawn in more than 60 years--since Eleanor
Roosevelt had a Victory Garden during World War II.
"I'm just so
gratified that this idea, that seemed as right as rain from the
beginning," has finally taken hold, said Waters, owner of the renowned
Chez Panisse.
"Food is precious. It comes from the land," she
added. "And we have to take care of the land in order to nourish
ourselves. It's very hard to talk about food without talking about the
garden."
Pollan, author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," praised the
Obamas for starting small. "The mistake gardeners make is starting out
too ambitious," he said.
Responding to reports that the Obamas
would be planting arugula, Pollan said he specifically warned the
president against planting the leafy lettuce. "I said be careful about
arugula or you'll be accused of elitism."
From his chilly corner
of Maine, Doirer's small plot yielded $2,100 worth of produce from 35
different crops last year. The message, he said, is that even in these
difficult economic times, when families are struggling monetarily and
psychologically, people can find creative ways to put healthy food on
their table.
"Even if families can start with something small
this season they're going to come away feeling empowered," Doirer said.
"There are things that we can do, even though we feel like we are up
against incredible odds."
Waters said she was especially pleased
that Michelle Obama chose to start the garden surrounded by children--a
topic near and dear to her heart.
As a founder of The Edible
Schoolyard, a program in Berkeley and now New Orleans to integrate
organic gardens into schools, Waters wants children to learn that
vegetables and fruit come from the ground, not a store.
"If we
make a beautiful place that children can walk though on tours of the
White House, we can broadcast that message around the world," Waters
said. "It's such a beautiful picture. It's confirming and affirming
their interest in the garden."
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
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