Michelle Obama's White House vegetable garden falls victim to ongoing US government shutdown The short-staffing levels means there is not enough manpower to chase off a fox that is believed to have taken up residence within the grounds of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in recent weeks. Squirrels have also been emboldened by and have become "even more aggressive with the low level of human intervention," according to the Foodorama blog. The squirrels are always a problem in the garden, eating the berry crop in the summer months. But they're now kids in a candy store, gorging themselves," Ms Gehman Kohan wrote. The squirrels have munched on Sungold tomatoes and peppers while a hawk has been making regular visits to the grounds. Four days of rain in Washington have left the garden looking particularly bedraggled. All throughout the 1,500 square-foot garden, plants are going untended and weeds allowed to grow unchallenged. Part of the problem is that Sam Kass, the executive director of Mrs Obama's Let Move! initiative and the champion of the garden, is among the 800,000 federal workers on furlough. The First Lady's plans for an autumn harvest party, where local children are invited to help pick the produce, have been cancelled along with the rest of her public appearances. The kitchen garden is used to supply produce for the First Family's nightly meals as well as to feed visiting heads of state.