Can First Lady Melania Trump might be coaxed into taking a real interest in Michelle Obama's garden with an onion? Melania's predecessor cultivated and oversaw what's known as the "White House Kitchen Garden." Michelle advocated for healthy eating and promoted the healthier school lunch program during her time as first lady. While the garden still exists and is cared for by volunteers and staff, the current first lady has made no concerted effort to carry on Mrs. Obama's tradition. Her indifference to the garden hasn't gone unnoticed and it's thought that maybe a Slovenian onion will push Melania to get more involved with the garden, NDTV reports.
Pennsylavania plant company seeking prized seed
Burpee, a Pennsylvania seed company, has been attempting to find the seeds of the rare "Raka Red" onion. It's an onion native to the small agricultural community in Slovenia that Melania Trump's family originally hails from, and an onion that her grandfather harvested. It lost its popularity in the 1980s and 1990s, and is suited for both cooking and eating raw.
Burpee would love to get its hands on the seeds. Going by the first six months into Melania Trump's tenure as first lady, she isn't demonstrating interest in Michelle Obama's garden. Although it's being tended to by staff, her involvement would make a statement. When Michelle was first lady, she took part in photo ops in which she was in work clothes digging dirt and planting seeds.
Will Melania take interest in Michelle's garden?
Efforts to revive the Raka Red onion have largely failed over the years in Slovenia, but if it gets into the White House Kitchen Garden, things could change. Will that impact Melania Trump's involvement with Michelle Obama's garden?
"I can't predict if she'll be a champion for the garden," Burpee CEO George Ball said.
"I hope so. I don't know."
As The Inquisitr reports, Burpee has donated $2.5 million to support the White House garden through the year 2030. It's unknown if they'll be able to find the Raka Red onion seed, but they hope it makes a big comeback.
Melania Trump reassured Michelle Obama that the garden she cultivated would remain intact, but never claimed to actively maintain it -- or consume what was grown in it.
The very idea of Melania partaking in anything consisting of dirt would be more of a shock in all actuality. If she pursues having a more functional role in the garden, it would be a major headline. If the Raka Red onion makes its way into the garden, it would be a dream come true for Slovenia.
