Elementary School Students Join Michelle Obama for Fall Harvest of White House Garden

Elementary school students joined first lady Michelle Obama for the fall harvest of the White House Kitchen Garden Tuesday afternoon.

Students from D.C.'s Harriet Tubman and Bancroft elementary schools, who often help with the garden, joined in, as did children from Arizona, California and Ohio schools. The students were selected because they attend schools that teach students about healthy eating through their school gardens and provide local prduce in school meals.

The students are celebrating National Farm to School Month, designated by Congress in 2010 to encourage children's nutrition improvement initiatives.

Chefs working with three of the Kids' State Dinner winners also joined the first lady at the harvest, where she announced this year's Kids' "State Dinner" pairings. The program pairs up children with chefs in their communities to host cooking demonstrations to help teach families across the country about healthy food choices.

Esther Matheny, 11, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, who won with her Chesapeake fish tacos and lemon-basil sorbet, was paired with Chef Geoff Tracy.

Esther said meeting the first lady was a thrill.

"I'm just really excited to know that she likes eating healthy as much as I do," she said. "I'm just grateful to have this experience."

The first lady also answered questions about her Let's Move campaign and the White House Kitchen Garden on Vine under the hashtag #AskTheFirstLady.

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