The veggies, berries and herbs culled from the south grounds make their way to the table of the First Family — and serve as an example for the rest of the nation on the importance of a healthy dietPhotographs by Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
Groundbreaking
First Lady Michele Obama grabs a rake on the day the White House garden was inaugurated in March 2009. The 1,100-sq.-ft. plot is the first vegetable garden to be planted on White House grounds since Eleanor Roosevelt's World War II victory garden.Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
Chow
The First Lady, the White House chefs and the kids from Bancroft enjoy the fruits of their labors.Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
Bringing It All Back Home
"There's nothing really cooler," Michelle Obama says, "than coming to the White House and harvesting some of the vegetables and being in the kitchen with [White House chefs] Cris and Sam and Bill, cutting and cooking and actually experiencing the joys of your work."Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
Young Gardeners
The First Lady has said she hopes to use the garden to educate children — and through them, their families — about the importance of a healthy diet. In June, she invited fifth-graders from Washington's Bancroft Elementary School to help with gardening tasks.Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
Ingredients
Assistant White House chef Sam Kass carries bowls of beans harvested from the garden. Much of the food from the garden is used in meals prepared at the White House.Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
Bounty
Fifty-five different varieties of berries, vegetables and herbs are grown in the garden, including parsley, cilantro, peppers, chard, arugula, chives, chamomile and several kinds of lettuce (green oak leaf, red romaine, butterhead and galactic).Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
Quality Control
The First Lady samples a carrot from the garden before sharing a meal with the fifth-graders from Bancroft Elementary.Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
Beehive
White House carpenter Charlie Brandts, who is a beekeeper, tends two hives, which provide honey while their residents help with pollination.Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
In the Dirt
When the garden was first seeded, Michelle Obama joked that the entire Obama family, including the President, would pull weeds "whether they like it or not."Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
Lotta Lettuce
Kids from the Bancroft school weigh some leafy greens.Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
Serious Stuff
Assistant White House chef Sam Kass and executive chef Cristeta Comerford chop vegetables harvested from the garden.Brooks Kraft / Corbis for TIME
