White House Gets Vegetable Garden

(AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

Alice Waters, the culinary impresario from Berkeley, California's Chez Panisse, must be a very happy woman. She's done what few chefs before her have managed: influenced the president of the United States.

Waters, a cheerleader for the organic food movement, has been pushing the Obamas for months to embrace locally grown fruits and vegetables. In fact, she urged the first family to think very locally.

In an open letter, Waters wrote, "I cannot forget the vision I have had since 1993 of a beautiful vegetable garden on the White House lawn. It would demonstrate to the nation and to the world our priority of stewardship of the land—a true victory garden!"

Today, Waters' vision becomes a reality. White House grounds crew and kitchen staff will clear a 1,100-square-foot patch of land on the South Lawn to grow goodies like Thai basil, hot peppers, collard greens, spinach, and berries, The New York Times reports. There will even be space for two bee hives, which will be used to make honey.

White House staff will have help breaking ground for the garden: Fifth graders from Mount Pleasant's Bancroft Elementary School have been enlisted to lend a hand with the digging. And the first family will do gardening stints. Michelle Obama promised the Times that being "leader of the free world" won't excuse her husband from weeding.

Though the vegetables and fruits will be used by White House cooks, the first lady believes the garden will have an important symbolic role. She wants to encourage American families to think about healthy eating as a way to curb obesity and other diseases brought on by poor diet.

"My hope is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities," she told the Times.

In addition to dietary advantages, advocates for locally grown produce point to its environmental benefits. Organic foods don't rely on chemically based fertilizers. Moreover, by producing food locally, families leave a smaller carbon footprint because not as much oil is used up in transporting goods.

There is a historical precedent for a White House garden. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a victory garden during the height of World War II.

You can see more of Alice Waters from her interview this past week on 60 Minutes below:



Update 5pm: Mrs. Obama was joined by twenty-six students this afternoon, as she broke ground for the White House kitchen garden.

The group readied the soil to plant mint, corn and squash and beans as the First Lady explained that they will make their own honey.

The students will return in June, to harvest the vegetables and cook with the White House chef.

Mrs. Obama joked that this was a move to get her daughters to eat more vegetables. She then led the group in a cheer: "let's hear it for vegetables...let's hear it for fruits".

One student booed at the cheer and the First Lady threatened to take away the cookies they munched on.

[brainteaser2]

I'm sorry but I have eaten at Alice Waters restaurant in Berkley several times and it has been uniformly terrible. I suppose that once upon a time it was a real novelty but now your just paying for the Waters name. There are many everyday restaurants that do a much better job. At the white house this garden can be a symbol of the US recovery - just like Eleanor Rosevelt's victory garden.

[aziridine]

Obama will spend well over 2 Billion Dollars to run the White House this year, so it's pretty safe to say those two extra gardners will run 65 grand apiece.

I can't wait til one of the gardeners walks by the Oval Office and shouts, "Anyone here seen a Spade or a Hoe?"

[aziridine]

The difference is tat Obama won't tend the garden. He'll be busy running up TRILLION dollar deficits. Meanwhile, his 10 x 100 ft garden will be tended by professional gardener who will cost one helluva lot more that a couple of hundred cans of beans and corn.

Meanwhile Obama feels it's neccessary to have a military that costs 10 TIMES a much as #2 China's. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA how many gardens this fool could plant with his meaningless 2 TRILLION DOLLAR deficit? do you know how many millions Obama will hand to HALLIBURTON this year after he spent all last year complaining about them?

So now Obama wants to knock a couple of hundred dollars off the White House food budget as his contribution to the TRILLIONS!!! LMFAO

[YCantWeAllGetAlong]

What a wonderful idea, this garden! Maybe it will encourage families all over America to join in and plant their own. It's fun, educational and delicious (well at least we hope it will be successful). I really like Michelle Obama's ideas and I think she's a great mom.

[lyndar2]

Alice Waters is another great pioneer woman trying to lead the way for others so hats off to her for succeeding in this effort. I am not particularly an Obama fan but give the family some credit for laying the basics for families that are in need of food.
A lot of kids want to be like those little girls and helping feed families is a great incentive.

[realnews12]

cost to the taxpayer for Obama's symbolic garden, $123,000.

Posted by aziridine at 6:51 PM : Mar 20, 2009

What a ridiculous assertion. I have a garden of comparable size and it costs only a tiny fraction of that. You seem to be one of those Obama haters who will do or say anything to try to slime Obama. Yawn.

[realnews12]

Can you?

Posted by andejack at 6:41 PM : Mar 20, 2009

I'm very happy, thanks. I'm not the one attacking every little thing about Obama and his family (his daughters have not previously "touched the earth"? Their victory garden is just for show? Geesh.)

I have not been "duped" just because I respect President Obama as a fine leader who is doing all he can to try to solve the many problems besetting the American people.
I have great hope for the future. I wish you could share some of it, rather than giving in to believe that there is no goodness and all is a sham. That is sad.

[aziridine]

LMAO..cost to the taxpayer for Obama's symbolic garden, $123,000. Value of the vegetables produced by the garden $632. Value of having a President who pretends to understand agricultural economics? Zero. My that sounds like a good deal. Obama is a fool playing to tose even more foolish than he!

This reminds me of Jimmy carter and Zbigniew driving to his inauguration in a beatup Rambler....next thing we new we had 15% inflation!!!!

[andejack]

Hey realnews12 , I AM NOT a sad person, only one saddened by what I observe you and all too many fine citizens have been, and continue to be, duped into believing. Seems that you, like so many others, have only personal attack as a means of response. Believe it or not, that saddens me as well. I can, however, be saddend by situations I observe without becomming a sad person. Can you?

[redrockraven]

speakinup

Mrs. Roosevelt spent lots of time working in her white house victory garden, as I suspect the new president's family will also.

I would much rather see the white house gardening staff taking care of a victory garden that actually produces healthy food than a white house lawn that produces nothing but grass to mow. Being a bit self sufficient is one of the most American of Ideals.

Approximately a third of the automobile pollution in this country comes from transporting food to the kitchen table. If everyone planted a garden it would greatly reduce air pollution and save millions of barrels of oil. It would also help improve everyone's health in the process. Get outdoors and get some sunshine and fresh air.