Michelle Obama Gets Emotional While Dedicating White House Garden 

First Lady Michelle Obama is digging in her heels to ensure that her iconic vegetable garden will continue to flourish throughout future presidencies.

Obama took to the White House South Lawn on Wednesday to unveil a new and improved version of her garden, which featured concrete, stone and steel additions. The updates, according to Politico, are seen as means to preserve the first lady’s beloved garden — and to prevent future presidents from getting rid of it.

The White House has also made arrangements with the National Park Service to preserve and care for the garden, and secured a private $2.5 million donation to help cover maintenance costs.

In an emotional speech Wednesday afternoon, the first lady said, “I take great pride in knowing that this little garden will live on as a symbol of the hopes and dreams we all hold of growing a healthier nation for our children.”

Calling it a “refuge” and a “labor of love,” Obama dedicated the garden before an audience of advocates, food industry leaders and others who have pitched in on Let’s Move!, her campaign to end childhood obesity.

Also among the crowd was Obama’s “original partner in crime,” Sam Kass. Kass helped the first lady hatch the idea for her garden when he served as the Obamas’ personal chef in Chicago, while President Obama was a junior senator from Illinois. The Obamas brought Kass with them to the White House, and he eventually spearheaded the garden project as a White House chef and food policy adviser.

“Sam, because of your unprecedented leadership, we are here today,” Obama said. “And it’s been a nice ride from the kitchen on Greenwood where we talked about this vision to now.  So don’t cry.  Not yet.  But here it is, and a lot of this is because of you.  So thank you, babe.”

Obama also thanked her Let’s Move! team, saying, “To all the staff members who have helped make Let’s Move! a reality, I am just grateful to you all.  You’ve done tremendous work.”

“No one can ever look at Let’s Move! and say that this was just Michelle Obama’s initiative,” she added later. “This has truly become a movement.  And it certainly won’t end when I leave the White House because we still have a long way to go before we solve this problem.”

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