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Since before the presidential elections last year, local-food proponents had been requesting an organic garden be installed on the White House lawn.
On March 20, the Obamas took the first steps to planting a vegetable garden on the South Lawn—the first vegetable garden to grace the White House landscape since Eleanor Roosevelt’s World War II victory garden.
Michelle Obama and a group of elementary school students broke ground on this garden, readying an 1,100-square-foot plot of land to take on herbs and vegetables that will grace the table of dignitaries.
The Obamas, it seems, are becoming hobby farmers in their own right, and they plan to keep the local elementary school children involved in gardening, harvesting and cooking the produce throughout the year.
“This is a big day. We’ve been talking about it since the day we moved in,” said Michelle Obama on the White House’s official blog.
According to the Associated Press, among the edible varieties in the garden will be spinach, broccoli, lettuce, kale, collard greens, herbs and berries.
There will also be a beehive, from which Michelle Obama hopes they can make honey. The produce harvested will be served at White House functions, family dinners and local soup kitchens.
