Slideshow: A Look Back on President Obama's Food Policies 2009

We knew it'd be a big year for President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. But there's no way we would have predicted the extent to which they would become involved in America's growing culinary culture and increasing food politics. Not only did the first couple set an extraordinary example of how the nation should eat healthy and local, but every single bite, it seems — from a cheeseburger lunch in Arlington, VA, to barbecued chicken in the White House on Father's Day — seemed to be deemed worthy of national news and attention. Regardless of how you feel about the Obamas' year in the food spotlight, they certainly garnered plenty of attention.