Harvest Day at the White House
EmailABC News’ Yunji de Nies reports: Michelle Obama led harvest day at the White House Kitchen Garden this afternoon. With several dozen local elementary students and the White House kitchen staff on hand to help, the First Lady dug into the dirt, pulling up sweet potatoes, fennel, carrots and the occasional worm. “Helps the soil!” she declared, holding up a large, wiggling earthworm. Before getting to work, Mrs. Obama gave a short history of the garden, explaining how it all began with tilling and planting last March. “This garden wasn’t here before. Nothing was here. This was grass like everything else, so we thought, ‘Well wouldn’t it be great if we could use this garden to talk about the importance of healthy eating and what good fresh foods taste like?’” she said. The garden was also harvested in the spring and in the summer, yielding 740 pounds of produce. Mrs. Obama said the White House invested less than $200 on soil and seeds.
“For less than $200 we have planted, not just enough food to feed the folks at the White House but we’ve also given a lot of food to some of our neighbors,” she said. Today’s harvest, the weight of which is still being tallied by the White House chefs, will go to Miriam’s Kitchen, a local food bank and soup kitchen. Mrs. Obama has already had a taste of this season’s crops. “My girls and I, we got a couple of these sweet potatoes,” she said, “These sweet potatoes are huge!” The group spent about a half an hour harvesting, before gathering all of the produce into large boxes and wheel barrows. As they piled up the food, Mrs. Obama declared, “What a bounty!” The group posed for a photograph on the South Lawn, saying “Vegetables!” FLOTUS Fashion Watch: Mrs. Obama wore blue ink washed skinny jeans, a gray t-shirt, with a purple cardigan, topped a studded purple belt and two thin silver necklaces and small “Hope” pendant. She wore purple Converse All Stars. (Photo Credits: ABC News/Yunji de Nies) — Yunji de Nies
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This is so important….there are very, very few grocery stores in Urban areas…that sell fresh veggies and fruits, but they are stocked with chips, candy, soda, tobacco products heavily….I love this back to BASICS attitude….and hope this will become a trend to keep our Citizens Healthier. Thanks Michelle.
Posted by: sara | October 29, 2009, 4:54 pm 4:54 pm
My neighbor and I help each other out in our gardens while drinking a cup of Joe in the morning…and it’s good exercise too. My sweet potatoes didn’t do well, but our “greens” did very good. Kept some Collards and orka for Thanksgiving. Um Um Good. I love it!!!
Posted by: sara | October 29, 2009, 4:58 pm 4:58 pm
the garden looks great and how fantastic that the first lady wants to promote healthy eating. i bet some of the kids helping her have never seen a carrot actually growing in the ground! i would add an economic point to the discussion: the seeds only cost $200 but the LABOR that went into growing the food made the “true cost” a lot higher. I bet that labor was done “free” by white house staffers (the kitchen staff, maybe?) and that’s fine, whatever. i’m not making a political observation; as a first-time gardener this year i learned how much work it is to produce something from the dirt. god bless everyone who is farming in this country–from big time producers to local little guys–they are not only feeding us but much of the world. many people do not appreciate just how much work that takes.
Posted by: kelli | October 29, 2009, 4:58 pm 4:58 pm
I wonder how long it took the staff to bury all of the produce so the kids could dig it up?Am I a little jaded? You bet your*** I am.
Posted by: Connie Skudlarek | October 29, 2009, 4:59 pm 4:59 pm
sara–that’s true. i was in el paso–the hood part–a while back and i went to the little grocer across the street, you know, the little corner store with bars on the windows and the reek coming from the deep fryer grease trap. anyway, i was trying to buy lunch makings for a group; things to make sandwiches, fruit, something to drink, maybe a small treat. all that was there was crap. i had to hunt to even find a white bread loaf that didn’t have mold on it. i passed on the meat because honestly, i didn’t recognize what it was. i chose cheese, knowing i could cut mold off if i had to. of course there were plenty of donuts, doritos and diet cokes and deep fried foods. i was shocked. i mean, i didn’t expect a whole foods market, of course, but i couldn’t believe the lack of “real” food. but what was the source of the problem–that the store didn’t carry anything healthy or that no one (but me, an outsider) wanted to buy it? it’s a chicken/egg problem, no doubt…
Posted by: kelli | October 29, 2009, 5:07 pm 5:07 pm
I just think its GREAT the way Mrs. Obama opens the White House and welcome the school children of Washington DC! What an experience for these children! I actually went to the White House website where schools are encouraged to sign-up and bring the children to the White House as a field trip. The White House Garden and the healthy eating initiatives are just great educational programs for all of our children.
Posted by: FS | October 29, 2009, 5:34 pm 5:34 pm
Even I, a jaded conservative, see something refreshing in a First Lady wearing purple Converse All-Stars!
Posted by: beeman | October 29, 2009, 5:53 pm 5:53 pm
I suspect I could go an entire day without a fawning article on our supercalifragilisticexpialidocious first couple. A skeptic might note that prior to being blessed with any army of staff, paid by the US taxpayer, Michelle planted zip in Chicago. My guess is that her recent trip to an upscale garden market to purchase some expensive, exotic Kale, also at taxpayers expense, is much more descriptive.
Posted by: hughglass | October 29, 2009, 10:26 pm 10:26 pm
What happened to the story from a few months ago saying that the food was inedible because of the sludge covering the grounds laid down during the Clinton years? Is Michelle still going to eat that food and give it to others?
Thanks for showing us how to grow food so we will know what to do when we become a banana republic!
Posted by: Elle | October 29, 2009, 10:36 pm 10:36 pm
Given our nation is being bankrupted, this is a wonderful idea – what’s next, outhouses? Wait, saves water, composting night soil for the garden… Michelle, install an outhouse at the White House! Wow, if we “change” enough, we will be just like North Korea!
Posted by: Mao Ze Deng | October 29, 2009, 11:15 pm 11:15 pm
“Is Michelle still going to eat that food and give it to others?”
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You ought to pay more attention to news and current events. The garden food has been eaten and served at the White House for several months now.
p.s. – yes, you’d be smart to find a local garden, or start your own. Local food production is going to be a major factor in the future . ..
Posted by: tierra | October 29, 2009, 11:17 pm 11:17 pm
If more people were dropped off the entitlement programs there would be more back yard gardens.Why grow a garden when you can use your Food Stamp card to get everything free.Michelle needs to encourage self reliance and not government assistance,a back yard garden could be a good start.
Posted by: Johnny L | October 30, 2009, 8:06 am 8:06 am
This won’t keep anyone healthier. Because it’s more “natural”, then it’s more healthier? Natural is a dangerous word. Norman Borlaug said organic food can never feed the world. And anyone can see that she must be ignorant. “worms help the soil” – what a myth this is. Yes, worms and nematodes turn doo doo into soil nutrients, but don’t listen to every gardening myth.
Posted by: Lotus | April 14, 2010, 10:03 pm 10:03 pm
And why is everyone bothering with vegetables? Many of them have almost no vitamins, unless if you are ready to eat tons of it to get the RDA. People can be so naive and narrow minded.
Posted by: Lotus | April 14, 2010, 10:05 pm 10:05 pm