The W. Atlee Burpee home gardening company and the Burpee Foundation have contributed $2.5 million to the National Park Foundation to maintain the White House garden, founded in 2009 by former First Lady Michelle Obama, for at least 17 years.

The garden is a powerful symbol of Obama’s effort to promote healthy eating and lifestyles for America’s children. During an eight-year span, she added beehives, a compost system and a pollinator garden to attract birds and butterflies as the garden nearly tripled in size to 2,800 square feet.

This article appears in the July 2017 issue of Natural Awakenings.