If actions speak louder than words, then Michelle Obama’s move to turn a portion of the White House grounds into a kitchen garden is a fabulous way to encourage all of us to think about the environment, our health and the sheer pleasure that comes from growing your own food.

If you are fortunate to have time on your hands and a good size piece of land, then here are the White House kitchen garden plans (White House kitchen garden plans).

However, for many of us who don’t have the time, help or expansive land to grow such an ambitious kitchen garden, you may consider an urban version of it which I have in my home in San Jose. It is a raised vegetable garden planter which gives me enough area to grow some tomatoes, peppers, and basil.

I built it last year, yes, before Michelle Obama…for the record. It provides enough for me to play the role of an urban vegetable gardener and allows me to brag to Clint every time I make a salad with my own tomatoes.

You can find the details of the project here.

Loni Stark is an artist at Atelier Stark, self-professed foodie, and adventure travel seeker who has a lifelong passion for technology’s impact on business and creativity. She collaborates with Clinton Stark on video projects for Atelier Stark Films. It’s been said her laugh can be heard from San Jose all the way up to the Golden Gate Bridge. She makes no claims to super powers, although sushi is definitely her Kryptonite.