Michelle Obama visits farmers market near White House, promotes eating locally grown food

First lady speaks and shops at farmers market

WASHINGTON — First lady Michelle Obama bought cheese, fingerling potatoes, eggs, black kale and other items Thursday at the launch of a new farmers market blocks from the White House.

Before shopping, Mrs. Obama spoke about the importance of healthy eating to about 300 shoppers gathered in the drizzling rain.

“I have never seen so many people so excited about fruits and vegetables,” she told the cheering crowd.

The first lady said she wasn’t always so invested in healthy foods.

“I was a working mother trying to put it all together,” she said. “Takeout food was a primary part of our diet.”

But Mrs. Obama explained that she gradually saw the effect eating better had on the health and habits of her children.

“The kind of food that we put into our body gives us the energy to get through the day,” she said.

Mrs. Obama praised farmers markets as places where Americans can learn more about how their food is produced.

“You get to know the people who grow your food, how they do it, you know, who they are as people,” she said.

These markets play an especially important in neighborhoods where access to healthy options are limited, she added.

The first lady has been promoting locally grown food and healthy eating with a popular vegetable garden at the White House.