Michelle Obama: Detroit, Chicago fund-raising, food stops. Her schedule

WASHINGTON– First Lady Michelle Obama hits Detroit and Chicago on Tuesday for fund-raisers and in her hometown adds stops on the South Side to highlight her healthy eating campaign with Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

This is a rare visit home for Mrs. Obama–and the first time she is in Chicago for official business since becoming first lady. Previous visits have been personal or for fund-raising.

My column on Mrs. Obama and Emanuel Chicago food conference is HERE. My lede:

For 22 months, first lady Michelle Obama has been traveling the country on her healthy eating and anti-childhood obesity drive. On Tuesday, she is taking her crusade home to Chicago, where low-income neighborhoods on her native South Side are underserved by grocery stores.

Mrs. Obama’s Tuesday schedule details:

12:55 PM Detroit at a fund-raiser to benefit the 2012 re-election campaign at the Westin Book Cadillac. .

2:45 PM at the Walgreens at 11 E. 75th, to deliver remarks on food deserts and access to healthy foods at a food conference Emanuel is organizing with eight mayors and White House officials. Walgreens and other retailers are expected to announce new pledges at the event.

3:50 PM at the Iron Street Urban Farms, a 7-acre year round grower on Chicago’s South Side, the city’s largest farm. The mayors will have visited earlier in the day.

6:40 PM at 2012 fundraiser at Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd.