First Lady Michelle Obama treated the spouses of world leaders participating in the UN General Assembly to a local, organic luncheon at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, an NSAC member group (see last week’s post).  The 31 “first spouses,” representing a diversity of countries including Cameroon, Estonia, Gabon, Norway, Panama and Sierra Leone, enjoyed tours of the farm followed by a luncheon at “Blue Hills at Stone Barns,” an award-winning restaurant that sources its food from the Center’s farm.  During the tours, they mingled with children from a local school, who demonstrated their new found skills at harvesting vegetables and collecting eggs as part of the Center’s child education programs.

“The real beauty comes when you see the kids,” Mrs. Obama said in an interview with the New York Times.  “They were focused on their tomato picking.  And to see the kids in the chicken coops, picking the eggs, and they were excited, and they want to show you what they’ve done, and they have information and intelligence about the food that they’re eating, you see that excitement.  It’s going to change the way they think about food and how they eat.”

The Center is a non-profit working farm and education center in Pocantico Hills, NY, dedicated to celebrating, teaching, and advancing community-based food production and the enjoyment of fresh, nutritious food.