Assistant White House chef Sam Kass, who cooks weekly for President Barack Obama and helps run a program to battle childhood obesity, said on Tuesday he will be furloughed because of federal budget cuts.

Kass mentioned the furlough while talking to reporters about Let’s Move, a childhood obesity initiative of first lady Michelle Obama. The program will not be affected by automatic budget cuts that took effect on March 1 but he said, “We’re being furloughed.”

A White House spokesman who accompanied Kass to the briefing declined to comment and the White House provided no details. Kass said he continues to cook for the Obamas weekly despite his increasing duties with Let’s Move.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The White House has an executive chef and four assistant chefs. It was unclear whether other chefs would be affected by furloughs forced by budget cuts. Some federal workers face furloughs of one day a week through Sept. 30, but the impact varies among agencies. Some cut spending sufficiently to avoid any furloughs.

A Chicago chef, Kass joined the White House staff during Obama’s first term and helped create the vegetable garden on the South Lawn that has provided more than 3,000 pounds (1,361 kg) of home-grown produce forWhite House meals. He is also an occasional golf partner of the president.

Last week, 45 elementary school students took part in spring planting of the garden.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount