White House garden in mess due to prolonged government shutdown

As the shutdown of the U.S. federal government continued for the 15th day, the South Garden and vegetable farm in the White House that President Barack Obama’s wife Michelle Obama has been carefully taking care of is turning into a mess, the Reuters reported on Tuesday.

More than 30 kinds of fruits and vegetables are being rotten, and wild animals including fox, squirrels and all different insects are flocking to the garden. The garden that used to be thoroughly managed has now piles of fallen leaves, with mushrooms and weeds fledgling at various spots.

On the reason for this situation, an aide to the U.S. president at the White House said the number of staff managing the garden declined significantly due to the shutdown, adding “We are barely watering the garden now.”

In fact, as most employees of the National Park Service, which has been managing the While House garden, were forced to take leave, workers who would manage a 140 sq. meter garden has all but disappeared, while harvesting crops have been banned. Sam Cass, the chef exclusively for the president who helped First Lady Michelle Obama manages the garden, was also on unpaid leave for the 15th day through Tuesday, according to the Hill, a journal dedicated on the U.S. Congress.

The U.S. First Lady has been cultivating a vegetable farm at the White House Garden as part of “Let’s Move,” a campaign to fight childhood obesity, since 2009, soon after President Obama’s inauguration, consuming crops she harvested at the garden or donating them to local charities, the Reuters reported.