While the fate of the Affordable Care Act is still unclear and reproductive rights are being contested, the first lady said that the White House vegetable garden wouldn't be going anywhere. Planted and championed by Michelle Obama, the garden was a symbol of her dedication to nutrition and eating locally grown produce during her husband's two terms as president.
"As a mother and as the First Lady of this country, Mrs. Trump is committed to the preservation and continuation of the White House Gardens, specifically the First Lady's Kitchen Garden and the Rose Garden," Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, senior adviser to the first lady, said in a statement released to CNN.
The garden doesn't just feed the residents of the White House. Excess produce is donated to local nonprofits. Back in October, Obama did her best to ensure that the garden would stay by expanding it; adding cement, stone, and steel fixtures; and placing it in the hands of the National Park Service with $2.5 million in private funding. The public and Obama can rest assured that the current first lady sees the importance of the garden and the good it promotes by literally feeding the community and providing an outlet for relaxing and self-care, which plenty of us need right now.
"Gardening teaches us the fundamentals in care and the evolution of living things," the statement continues, "all while inspiring us to nurture our minds and to relax and strengthen our bodies."
The White House vegetable garden can be traced back to 1800 when the first garden was planted by then-first lady Abigail Adams. Later, President Thomas Jefferson expanded it to include fruit trees and President Andrew Jackson even added a greenhouse. That was removed to accommodate the West Wing, but the garden was expanded again by Eleanor Roosevelt after WWII. A formal garden came and went with different administrations. The Clintons even planted a rooftop garden before Obama officially established the garden in 2009.
The current garden, which was established in 2009 on the South Lawn and even includes honeybees, looks like it's here to stay. Michelle Obama tended the garden herself during her time at the White House.
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