Obamas to plant veggie garden at White House

Did everyone see this yet?

The first family is going to plant the first vegetable garden that the White House has seen since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden during World War II.

According to the New York Times article linked to above, the organic fruits and vegetables grown will provide food for the family’s meals and formal dinners, as well as be a way to educate children about healthful, locally grown food.

Students from a nearby elementary school, which has operated its own vegetable garden since 2001, will help the Obamas dig up the soil for the 1,100-square-foot garden. As someone who overturned 625 square feet of sod in my own backyard last spring to plant a vegetable garden, the Obamas ought to be grateful for the help—It’s hard work!

The garden will be on the White House’s South Lawn and will be visible to passersby.

I love this excerpt from the story:

Virtually the entire Obama family, including the president, will pull weeds, “whether they like it or not,” Mrs. Obama said with a laugh. “Now Grandma, my mom, I don’t know.” Her mother, she said, will probably sit back and say: “Isn’t that lovely. You missed a spot.”

And Dan Barber, the owner of a restaurant in New York that grows much of the food it feeds its customers, made this point about the garden:

“The power of Michelle Obama and the garden can create a very powerful message about eating healthy and more delicious food. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say it could translate into real change.”

Based on the New York Times diagram above of the garden, Sasha and Malia better like their leafy greens. What, no tomatoes? No peppers? No patty pan squash?

Do you have a vegetable garden in your backyard? What do you grow? Do you think you eat healthier because of it?

Image courtesy of The New York Times