Obamas open White House kitchen garden

Let them reap what they sow: Michelle Obama is today presiding over the groundbreaking ceremony for a White House kitchen garden.

She, the president and their children, Sasha and Malia will all be involved in tending the garden which is slated to produce 55 kinds of vegetables, including peppers, spinach and even arugula, the lettuce President Obama was mocked for referring to in a campaign speech (it was thought to show how out of touch he was with Joe Sixpack's eating habits).

The food will be used by White House chefs to feed the First Family, as well as being served at State banquets. All very commendable in the promotion of healthy eating - a topic dear to Michelle Obama's heart - but perhaps not fully thought through: the President is already being criticised for talking down the economy, and a White House kitchen garden perhaps smacks a little too much of the austerity of the Dig for Victory campaign in World War II. ·