Less than three months after the White House Kitchen Garden groundbreaking, here and a few weeks after the First Lady visited Bancroft Elementary School to help plant cucumbers and peppers, the Bancroft kids were back at the White House on Tuesday for the official White House Garden Harvest Party.

According to White House assistant chef and White House Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass, the kids helped to harvest a yield of 73 pounds of lettuce and 12 pounds of peas. They munched in the garden, and then some of the student went to the kitchen to prepare a healthy homegrown meal, which they ate with the First Lady.

The First Lady also addressed the students, discussing the past, present, and future of the White House Kitchen Garden and the garden’s connection to the broad spectrum of food policy initiatives.

Here is a brief excerpt:

The planting of this garden was one of the first things I wanted to do as First Lady here at the White House. It was something I had talked about a long time ago. And with the help of you guys, you helped to make this dream a reality. And as you could see when we went down to the garden, can you imagine how thriving that garden is, just how much food grew from a few little seeds and some plantings? So this was a big dream of mine for a while, and it’s been so much fun working with you all.

But I also thought that this would be a fun and interesting way to talk to kids about healthy eating and nutrition. The President and Congress are going to begin to address health care reform, and these issues of nutrition and wellness and preventative care is going to be the focus of a lot of conversation coming up in the weeks and months to come. And these are issues that I care deeply about, especially when they affect America’s children.

You can read the First Lady’s entire remarks here and the White House blog post here.

There’s plenty of good coverage across the internet including
Young Eaters Mind Their Peas & Cues: First Lady Hopes Lessons Of Gardening Take Root by Jane Black, Washington Post
Harvest time at Michelle Obama’s garden by Dave Cook, Christian Science Monitor
And of course the prolific Obama Foodorama, which has four tasty posts on the Harvest Party:
Lettuce Leaves and Harvesting Dreams: The Bancroft Kids’ Final Visit To The White House Kitchen Garden
The Cupcakes From The White House Kitchen Garden Harvest Picnic
First Lady Michelle Obama Becomes The New Leader Of America’s Food Movement: The First Lady At The Top of The Food Chain
The Recipes For The White House Kitchen Garden Harvest Picnic

Finally, please don’t forget to thank Mrs. Obama for her incredibly inspiring garden project!