First Family: Life in the White House

The first family this week: 15 headlines you may have missed

They're role models

• The first post-modern first couple? (New American Media)
• The Obamas are "black swans" (Huffington Post)
• "The first lady of the United States is brown like me" (Austin American-Statesman)
• The price of "faux-familiarity" (The New York Times)
• Ebony editor: "They are the president and first lady of the people" (NewsBusters/NBC)

They're cool

• Sasha, Malia may increase attention paid to tween set (USA Today)

They're fashionable

• First family wears wool (Weekly Times)
• Sasha's inaugural ball dress helps raise money for children (MyCentralJersey.com)
• The importance of letting their hair down (KNX)
• Book to chronicle Michelle Obama's style (Washington Times)
  

They eat well

• Eating locally stimulates the economy (Marie Claire)
• What may be on the first family's menu (Caymanmama.com)

They're entertaining

• Jonas brothers want to fly on Air Force One (OK!)
• First family could bring diversity to TV shows (Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier)

And they're friendly to animals

• National Park Service removing raccoons from West Wing (The Herald)

Peanut butter contamination hits Obama close to home, president orders FDA review

As more peanut products are recalled due to possible contamination, the president says he is ordering a complete review of the Food and Drug Administration. He told "Today"'s Matt Lauer:

"At bare minimum, we should be able to count on our government keeping our kids safe when they eat peanut butter." ...

Obama said Sunday that he had a personal stake in the problem with peanut products, especially peanut butter, because "that's what Sasha eats for lunch probably three times a week." Sasha, 7, is the president's younger daughter.

"I don't want to have to worry about whether she's going to get sick as a consequence to having her lunch," Obama said.

Two women top vote-getters for White House Farmer

Inspired by Michael Pollan's open letter to the president in The New York Times Magazine, an Illinois couple started WhiteHouseFarmer.com to take nominations for the job. After a few months of nominations and one month of voting, two women have won,

• Claire Strader, Troy Gardens (Madison, Wisconsin)
  
• Carrie Little, Mother Earth Farm (Orting, Washington)
  

The organizers say: "We are compiling a packet of information on the top three nominees and will send it to President Obama's staff. We are hopeful that the time is ripe for a White House Farmer."

Kitchen Cabinet: Headlines for Feb. 1

• FDA announces new recalls of tainted peanut butter products (Oregonian)
• White House responds to salmonella outbreak (Consumer Reports)
• Alabama school systems turn to buyouts for relief (AP)
• Senate passes expanded Child Health Insurance Program (CNN)
• Obama promises mortgage relief for homeowners (Reuters)

Kitchen Cabinet: Headlines for Jan. 29

• Every peanut product from Georgia plant recalled
• Senate likely to pass bill on kids' health insurance
• Home-birth advocates push for change in laws
• Stimulus plan would provide flood of aid to education
• Schools' budgetary scissors cut paper

Obamas hire Chicago chef with interest in local food

Advocates of a local, sustainable approach to food will be pleased to learn the Obamas now have their Chicago chef cooking for them at the White House. The New York Times says:

Sam Kass, a private chef for the Obamas while they were living in Chicago, is now working in the White House.

A spokeswoman for Michelle Obama, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, said Mr. Kass will not be the only cook preparing the family's meals, but "he knows what they like and he happens to have a particular interest in healthy food and local food." He will work alongside the White House executive chef, Cristeta Comerford, who was promoted to that job by the Bushes and is being kept on in that role by the Obamas.

Mr. Kass's appointment signals changes at the White House that should please chefs like Alice Waters, who have lobbied the Obamas to set an example for the rest of the country by emphasizing food that is healthy, local and sustainable. It further suggests that a vegetable garden on the White House grounds, another of Ms. Waters' dreams, could be on the horizon.

Previously: Foodies hope Obama's interest in healthy eating affects public policy

Foodies hope Obama's interest in healthy eating affects public policy

Some celebrity chefs who support local, sustainable food hope Obama's awareness of green eating might inform policy decisions.

With Obama, a man who actually knows the price of arugula, at the country's helm, these activists think they finally see their chance to recast the national debate about food. It's not about organic fruits and vegetables for sunchoke-munching yuppies and elite big-city chefs, they say. It's about healthier food in schools, programs to help food-stamp recipients buy nutritious fruits and vegetables and tax breaks for small family farmers. "Good food is not for snooty elitists," declared Ayelet Waldman, a novelist and Obama fundraiser who helped organize the dinners. "It's an issue for everybody. And now we have control of the dialogue."

Washington Post reporter Jane Black suggests the foodies "go slow" and, even though food policy may require a holistic approach, focus on some specific goals:

A food czar, which comes up on many activists' lists, might be a good rallying point. A Cabinet-level official who sees the world through a broad food lens could help disparate agencies work together to promote organic foods, diversify American farms and support local growers.

Better yet: Advocate for radical change this year when Congress renews the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act, which includes $21 billion annually for programs including school breakfast and lunch. Currently, cash-strapped schools are forced to rely on government surplus and sales of soda and other junk foods, a combination that results in millions of French fry-centric meals. Stricter school nutrition standards and increased funding for fruits and vegetables could change that. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack indicated in his confirmation hearing this month that he sees better nutrition as a tool for defeating childhood hunger.

Choosing one issue doesn't mean that food activists have to abandon their broader agenda or leave anyone behind. When it comes to food, chefs know that it's a mistake to crowd too many flavors onto a plate. All they need to do is apply the same principle to food politics.