Spring has sprung in the nation\u2019s capital and for the second year, First Lady Michelle Obama invited elementary school students to help her plant vegetables in the White House Kitchen Garden.<\/p>\n
She explained to the students from Hollings Meadow and Bancroft Elementary Schools that last year\u2019s garden produced 1000 pounds of vegetables.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used it for food in the White House and to feed the homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a great day to plant a garden. DC\u2019s weather was extremely kind with sunny skies and temps in the upper 60\u2019s. Samuel Kaas, the White House chef and his staff welcomed the group, showed them where to stand when the First Lady was ready to plant and what they would be doing.<\/p>\n
While awaiting her arrival, they sat at picnic tables with checkered tablecloths topped with baskets filled with apples.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you eat an apple? asked the First Lady. \u201cNoooo,\u201d they said. \u201cEat an apple,\u201d she instructed.<\/p>\n
This gathering was the latest in Mrs. Obama\u2019s campaign to address childhood obesity. “We want to eliminate this problem of childhood obesity in a generation. We want to get that done,” the First Lady told “Good Morning America’s” Robin Roberts in an exclusive morning television interview. “We want our kids to face a different and more optimistic future in terms of their lifespan.”<\/p>\n
Her signature, nationwide plan, \u201cLets Move\u201d calls for the following: Getting parents more informed about nutrition and exercise, improving the quality of food in schools, making healthy foods more affordable and accessible for families, and focusing more on physical education.<\/p>\n
Her spring garden is another step in the right direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cKetchup used to be considered a vegetable,\u201d said Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebilius to puzzled faces. \u201cBut it has too much salt and too much sugar. Did you plant ketchup last year?\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of the children present were also at the first planting last year. Mrs. Obama was happy to see familiar faces.<\/p>\n
The garden includes family favorites like spinach, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, onions, cauliflower and artichokes. It also includes herbs, thyme, spearmint, chervil and chamomile.<\/p>\n
The children seemed to have as much fun as the first lady did in digging, planting and watering.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m planting,\u201d said one little girl with a big smile on her face.<\/p>\n
Nisa Muhammad, MOW Washington, DC Correspondent<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0