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The White House
Office of the First Lady
For Immediate Release

First Lady Michelle Obama Welcomes Spouses of Leaders Attending UN General Assembly to a Farm-to-Table Luncheon Next Week

Visiting spouses will also tour Stone Barns Center, a New York farm and education center

On Friday, September 24th, First Lady Michelle Obama will host a special event for the spouses of Chiefs of State and Heads of Government participating in the United Nations General Assembly at the Stone Barns Center, a non-profit farm and education center north of New York City. Spouses will take tours of the farm where they will see herbs and other ingredients that will be used in the luncheon that follows at “Blue Hill at Stone Barns,” a world-renowned restaurant at the Center. Spouses will also be introduced to Stone Barns Center’s one of a kind children’s education program, where students from a local school will demonstrate their experiences in hands-on farming such as harvesting vegetables and collecting eggs from pasture-raised hens.

Mrs. Obama will deliver brief remarks at the luncheon and will be followed by Dan Barber, the Executive Chef and Co-Owner of Blue Hill. This event begins at 11:00 AM and will be pooled press by domestic and international media.

Stone Barns Center is part of a national movement to create a sustainable food system that benefits the community’s health and environment. The Center teaches children, farmers, chefs and thousands of annual visitors about a better way of growing food. Located in Pocantico Hills, New York, the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is a working farm with a mission: To celebrate, teach and advance community-based food production and the enjoyment of fresh, nutritious food. Click here for more information on the Stone Barns Center.

Last fall, Mrs. Obama invited spouses of leaders attending the Pittsburgh Summit to dinner at the home of Teresa Heinz at Rosemont Farm, a working farm that raises livestock and produces fruits and vegetables, some of which were used in the meal. Last spring, Mrs. Obama broke ground on the new White House Kitchen garden with students from a local Washington, DC school. Since then, the garden has yielded 1,600 pounds of vegetables, berries and herbs which have been used in various White House events and donated to local soup kitchens.