With so much rancor in the political arena these days, it's nice to call attention to a great project with a lot of benefits, which to my knowledge no one has criticized -- namely, the White House vegetable garden.
Even if you live far from Washington D.C., you are probably aware that First Lady Michelle Obama decided back in March to create a vegetable garden on the White House grounds, the first such garden since the days of Eleanor Roosevelt. One stated purpose was to provide the White House kitchen with more locally (very locally) grown fresh produce for the First Family and for White House guests.
The greater impact, though, was through Obama's decision to involve a group of fifth graders from a DC school in digging and planting the garden. Last week, the same group returned to the White House for harvest time. Like most of us in urbanized America, these kids are a long way from our farming tradition, but the entire experience -- wrapped up with a lunch utilizing the foodstuffs they grew, and a talk about the importance of fresh food and good nutrition, must make a huge and hopefully positive impact on them. And because it's the White House, of course, the publicity for the effort creates ripples that will touch a lot more young people than just the few dozen who participated directly.
The timing is interesting. Planting gardens has long been associated with hard economic times. During both World Wars, "victory gardens" were encouraged in several countries, including the U.S., not just for the food that could be grown, but as a morale booster. No one seems to have dubbed the current effort "victory garden" yet, but clearly at a time when the demand for garden seeds is outstripping demand, the time is ripe.
Speaking of morale, one last positive effect of the White House garden goes far beyond lettuce or nutrition. The vegetable patch was one element of a much broader effort both Obamas have made to get involved in the local community - out for a burger at lunch, serving food to the poor, planning events in schools. Never before has a President or First Lady connected with the people of the Washington area in this direct a fashion; this, I think, is appreciated especially here in D.C. with its orphaned, "taxation-without-representation" status.
Comments