In the famous White House kitchen garden, apples and tomatoes are rotting on the vine, herbs have gone to seed and the sweet potatoes, a favorite of President Barack Obama, have become insect food, all due to the current government shutdown.
According to Reuters, a food blog called Obamafoodarama, which covers the White House "food ephemera" and the administration's food policy has posted pictures of the normally groomed garden looking unappealing and overgrown.
"Due to the shutdown, garden maintenance has been reduced considerably and only being water as needed," a White House official confirmed.
The blog, ran by editor Eddie Gehman Kohan, said White House gardeners are only allowed to water the plots and can not harvest the vegetables. Those that volunteer to pick the weeds are not working either.
"Pounds and pounds of ripe bounty have gone to waste," Kohan wrote. "Weeds are springing up everywhere, and the vegetables that have already fallen off the vines are now moldering on the ground."
First lady Michelle Obama started the garden on the White House south lawn in 2009. It was the first time vegetables had been grown on the garden since, Eleanor Roosevelt's "victory garden" during World War II. The products from the gardens are often used in the White House, but much is donated to a local soup kitchen. The first lady uses the garden as a platform to talk about healthy eating and reducing childhood obesity.
As a result of the government shutdown, many eateries have been coming up with deals for furloughed employees. Starbucks gave away free coffee to customers who gave an example on how to get along, according to the Associated Press.
At the Daily Dish in Silver Spring, Md., furloughed government employees got free coffee. But "members of Congress pay double," a sign posted outside the restaurant read. Daily Dish co-owner Zena Polin told The Huffington Post on Wednesday, that no one from Congress has yet to come in and pay the extra cost.
Jose Andres Sandwiches gave away free sandwiches every afternoon during the shutdown to everyone that comes in and can show a government ID. Z-Burger, Pork Barrel BBQ and Sophie's Cuban D.C. will also offer their respective fares for free to hungry federal workers, according to ABC News.
