Photo: Aaron Gustatson's Flickr Photostream (creative commons)

Michelle Obama will break ground today for the new vegetable garden to be planted on the South lawn of the White House, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden of World War II.  I’m thrilled to confirm that the rumor of a presidential organic garden I mentioned the other day are true, and I’m sure many people are celebrating today as the First Lady takes an exemplary position to encourage the country to eat a healthier and local diet.  According to the New York Times:

While the organic garden will provide food for the first family’s meals and formal dinners, its most important role, Mrs. Obama said, will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at a time when obesity and diabetes have become a national concern.

For those of you who have been following along at home, you know that the idea for a White House garden didn’t just grow out of thin air.  A concerted grassroots effort pushed the presidential garden plan forward, particularly from Eat the View and The Who Farm. Given the context I think we need a new term besides grassroots, perhaps veggieroots?  Suggestions?  We apparently also have the Obama’s pediatrician to thank, who encouraged Mrs. Obama to feed a healthier diet to Malia and Sasha.

Twenty-three fifth graders from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington are going to be helping Michelle dig up the 1,100 sq. foot plot (which if you ask me, could be bigger), and will be visible to the public on E Street.  The kids will also help to plant, harvest and cook the veggies, herbs and fruits of their labor.  And you have to love the family involvement:

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.”

I suppose Barack has been pulling weeds since he arrived in office, but hopefully removing the literal weeds will be more therapeutic.  The garden will contain over 55 varieties of vegetables, started from seed and grown using organic methods.

The Obamas will feed their love of Mexican food with cilantro, tomatillos and hot peppers. Lettuces will include red romaine, green oak leaf, butterhead, red leaf and galactic. There will be spinach, chard, collards and black kale. For desserts, there will be a patch of berries. And herbs will include some more unusual varieties, like anise hyssop and Thai basil.

And for those of us who are bee-centric, will be happy to know that White House carpenter, Charlie Brandts, who is also a beekeeper, will tend two hives for honey.  This garden will speak volumes about how we need to drastically reshape our food system, and demand more local and organic food be made available to everyone.  Well aware of the veggieroots involvment, Michelle is very encouraging of community gardens and backyard plots.  And for those who don’t have space or time to grow their own,  the First Lady recommends that everyone make a concerted effort to eat better:

“You can begin in your own cupboard,” she said, “by eliminating processed food, trying to cook a meal a little more often, trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables.”

takepart by learning what you can do to help improve our food system by exploring the action page for the upcoming film Food Inc.