The White House started an organic kitchen garden in March 2009. The garden will provide food for the Obamas’ meals and formal dinners and help teach children and communities about the benefits of growing and eating locally grown fruit and vegetables.

According to the New York Times, the first lady said the idea for a garden came from her experiences as a working mother trying to feed her daughters a good diet. Eating out three times a week, ordering a pizza, having a sandwich for dinner all took their toll in added weight on the girls, whose pediatrician told Mrs. Obama that she needed to be thinking about nutrition.

Dan Barber, an owner of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, an organic restaurant in Pocantico Hills, N.Y., that grows many of its own ingredients, said: “The power of Michelle Obama and the garden can create a very powerful message about eating healthy and more delicious food. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say it could translate into real change.”