TALKBACK
First Lady Promotes Healthy Eating with White House Vegetable Garden
By Laura Weiss -- School Library Journal,03/23/2009
Like a high school cheerleader determined to fire up the fans before the big game, First Lady Michelle Obama pumped her arm in the air and let out a rousing cheer.
“Let’s hear it for vegetables,” she yelled. “Let’s hear it for fruits.”
The First Lady, White House Horticulturist Dale Haney, and kids from Bancroft Elementary School break ground for a White House garden.
Photo:White House / Joyce N. Boghosian
The occasion was the March 20 groundbreaking of the new organic White House kitchen garden—the first full-fledged vegetable plot on White House grounds since Eleanor Roosevelt planted a victory garden during World War II.
On a crisp first day of spring, about two dozen fifth graders from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, DC, dug and raked the soil to get it ready for planting. The students, who already tend a garden at their school, will return later in the spring and summer to plant and harvest the crops. Then, they’ll be invited into the White House kitchen to help prepare them.
The gardening effort reflects the First Lady’s persistent call for healthful eating. Obama has spoken often about the importance of nutritious eating, the problem of childhood obesity, and of the challenges involved in getting her two daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, to eat more healthy foods like fruits and vegetables.
“I’ve been able to have my kids eat so many different things that they would have never touched if we had bought them at a store,” Obama told the gathering of students and about a half dozen White House kitchen staff.
The 1,100-square-foot L-shaped plot is situated on the White House South Lawn and will produce a variety of fruits and vegetables—from spinach and peas to herbs, shallots, and berries. The food will be used to help feed the first family (the entire Obama family, including the president, will be expected to pull weeds and harvest crops), as well as guests at state dinners and other official functions. There will also be two beehives installed.
After years of lobbying for a White House garden—and for strengthened child nutrition and sustainable agricultural policies—food activists voiced praise for the First Family’s foray into food growing.
“For advocates of sustainable and healthy foods, this harvest of good news was as welcome as the summer’s first red-ripe tomato,” says Roger Doiron, founder of the nonprofit Kitchen Gardeners International and leader of a petition campaign asking the Obamas to plant a White House Garden.
But others, while expressing support for the Obama’s gardening initiative, said more concrete steps need to be taken to bolster nutritious eating among the nation’s children and families.
“It’s such a wonderful first step for the Obama family,” says Ann Cooper, a staunch advocate for school lunch reform and nutrition services director for the Berkeley school system. But Cooper insisted that if the First Lady “really cares about kids and food,” that her efforts should focus on reauthorizing the federal child nutrition program, which funds the school lunch and other school efforts. The law is up
First Lady breaking ground with kids from Bancroft Elementary School.
Photo: White House / Joyce N. Boghosian .
for reauthorization this year.
“We need more money, better guidelines, and training for staff before we can really have an impact,” she says.
Though recent presidents have undertaken only modest gardening projects, there’s plenty of presidential precedent for the Obamas’ agricultural initiative. President John Adams planted the first garden in 1800, Andrew Jackson erected a greenhouse to grow tropical fruits, and in 1918, Woodrow Wilson enlisted sheep to mow and fertilize the White House lawn. Millions of Americans planted gardens during World War II, inspired by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s White House garden.
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Submitted by: Trudy V. M-Skibbe (tskibbe@verizon.net)
3/26/2009 8:19:01 PM PT Location: United States Occupation: retired health & physical education teacher
Submitted by: sarah farr
3/25/2009 8:08:06 PM PT Location: maryland
As a retired teacher from the Great Valley School District in Malvern, PA, I am excited to be working with a new program our food service coordinator has initiated - "From Farm to Fork". We will be growing vegetables to serve our students, enlisting the services of the school and community population, using the garden as an educational tool,etc. It is a wonderful way to get all people of all ages working towards a healthy community.As a parent, I am so happy that Mrs. Obama is promoting fruits and vegetables. The government can do so much to help encourage healthy eating habits. When Congress renews the Child Nutrition Act it must encourage schools to serve healthier meals. Low-fat, cholesterol-free vegetarian foods need to be more affordable, and schools that serve nutritious foods (fruits, vegetables, vegetarian options) should receive additional funding. There is a group that is collecting signatures to try to get vegetarian options in school lunches. You can find it online at www.HealthySchoolLunches.org.
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A Victory garden poster from World War II. With the United States in a recession, more and more people are looking for ways to spend less money and get a better bargain at the same time. In a time where prices are higher, 'recession gardens' are becoming increasingly popular, echoing the victory gardens which were planted during World War I and World War II which helped to reduce the stress and pressure of food shortages.

"There is more interest in vegetable gardens similar to the victory gardens. Because of the economy, they are being called recession gardens," said a master gardener who volunteers at Ohio State University's Extension Service office, Fred Hanacek.

The new fad recently caught on in Iowa where families have began to plant the recession gardens to save money in the produce sections of supermarkets, especially organic fruits and vegetables. Public News Service quotes the National Gardening Association (NGA) as saying that they expect a nearly 20% increase in personal home garden across the U.S.. Some of the increase is also due to people wanting to know what goes onto their vegetables and in their foods.

"I do believe you'll find there's an extra expense in actually producing your own food, but the food quality you get is far better than what you can purchase in a store," said Beverly Bernhard a veteran gardener from Iowa.

The new trend has also gotten the attention of U.S. president Barack Obama who recently stated that he plans to plant a vegetable garden at the White House. It will be the first vegetable garden to be planted at the White House in over 20 years. The last time a garden of this kind was planted at the White House was in World War II when Eleanor Roosevelt planted her Victory Garden. In 1800, former U.S. president John Adams is reported to have planted the first White House garden. Andrew Jackson went a bit further, building a greenhouse.

Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the United States, broke ground on the new garden with the fifth grade class at Bancroft Elementary located in Washington, D.C. on March 20. The garden, which will be 1,100 square feet and an 'L' shape, will be located on the White House's South Lawn and the Obamas plan to grow over 55 varieties of vegetables.

"Let’s hear it for vegetables. Let’s hear it for fruits," yelled Mrs. Obama as they broke ground on the garden. "I’ve been able to have my kids eat so many different things that they would have never touched if we had bought them at a store," she added. Mrs. Obama also said that it will be the entire family's responsibility to maintain the garden, including the U.S. president.

Many vegetables grow easily, without having to do a lot of work to maintain them. Some examples are lettuce and zucchini. The NGA says at least 9 million Americans will grow vegetable gardens for the first time ever in 2009. An estimated 43 million Americans will plant their own personal vegetable gardens this year.