A vegetable garden at the White House
Woo-hoo! Finally, we'll have an organic vegetable garden instead of a patch of White House lawn. Fortunately, Michele Obama, in spite of this being her 'first' vegetable garden, is keenly interested in fresh food and improving the nutritional status of children in the U.S.
Of course, there's been plenty of lobbying from Kitchen Gardening, Slow Food, and other fresh food advocates (eg. Alice Waters and Michael Pollan), as well as lots of petition signers (including myself).
But this is a great thing as a model for all the other lawn-abundant folks in this country who certainly could convert a sunny spot to seasonal vegetables!
Of course, there's been plenty of lobbying from Kitchen Gardening, Slow Food, and other fresh food advocates (eg. Alice Waters and Michael Pollan), as well as lots of petition signers (including myself).
But this is a great thing as a model for all the other lawn-abundant folks in this country who certainly could convert a sunny spot to seasonal vegetables!
I appreciate all the changes, large and small, that the Obama family is making. I did a gardening cheer for the news of the kitchen garden. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree to a point with some of the naysayers that substantial attention to change in food policies such as corporate ag subsidies and an overhaul of school lunch programs is more important than "a symbol." But hey, what a symbol! And the way Michelle Obama and Sam Kass have envisioned it-- involving local school children in the growing and opening it for others to see-- very
ReplyDeletecool and much more than a gesture. And also good to see that the advocacy work of Waters, Pollan, SFUSA, and Kitchen Gardeners Int'l is paying off. Somebody may indeed be listening.
I am planting a garden tomorrow for a very sick friend who can't plant her own anymore. As I read about what's going in the spring planting at the White House, I realized that the same lettuce varieties they are using are the very ones I picked out for her at a local box store. So just about anybody (with just a little help and land or a few containers) can do it too!