On March 20, 2009, Michelle Obama dug up a patch of the South lawn – the first step in making a White House vegetable garden. The image is reminiscent of victory gardens during World War II, and the message is quite clear: eat healthy, eat local, grow your own to help sustain the health of our environment and the health of our children.
There are now and there have been wonderful community garden projects all over the world. For all those interested in following Mrs. Obama’s lead here are some valuable resources:
1.The Edible Schoolyard, “in collaboration with Martin Luther King Junior Middle School, provides urban public school students with a one-acre organic garden and a kitchen classroom.” Berkeley, CA.
http://www.edibleschoolyard.org/
2. Urban Agricultural Notes, published by City Farmer, Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture http://www.cityfarmer.info/.
3. Library of Congress, Horticulture and Gardening Guide
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/SciRefGuides/gardenpages.html 
4.Victory Gardens Handbook of the Victory Garden Committee War Services, Pennsylvania State Council of Defense, April, 1944
http://www.earthlypursuits.com/VictoryGardHandbook/VGHv.htm
5. Kitchen Gardeners International
http://www.kitchengardeners.org/?gclid=CMjog8jz15gCFRwDagod-3wrcw
The University Library can supply very handy gardening information resources. Please call the reference desk at 312-996-2726 or email us at http://www.uic.edu/depts/lib/digital/ for assistance with any and all gardening research questions.
