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The federal government's budget cuts are being felt everywhere these days -- including in the White House kitchen.
In an interview with reporters, the White House's assistant chef and senior policy adviser for the healthy food initiative, Sam Kass, announced that he was being furloughed, according to the Associated Press. Kass did not mention details of the furlough or when it would take effect.
Kass joined the White House kitchen
staff in 2009 and in 2010 became a senior policy adviser for healthy
food initiatives, where he works closely with First Lady Michelle Obama
on her Let's Move! campaign to fight childhood obesity.
Kass also helped the first lady create the White House's vegetable garden and cooked for the First Family a few days a week.
Kass
is not the only casualty of sequestration. White House kitchen garden
tours that allowed elementary, middle, and high school students to see
the garden up-close have been canceled until further notice. A notice
on the White House website states:
Due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration, we regret to inform you that White House Tours, including Kitchen Garden Tours, will be canceled effective Saturday, March 9, 2013, until further notice. Unfortunately, we will not be able to reschedule affected tours.
We very much regret having to take this action, particularly during the popular Spring touring season.
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