Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

I just finished watching Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution and I couldn’t wait to get online and write about it! I watched the premier on Sunday night and was blown away by several things.

First, the rudeness of the people he was trying to help was appalling. The radio talk show host was downright offensive in the way he treated Jamie. Here is this charming, successful chef who has taken time away from his own family to try to suggest some improvements that can actually change the lives of our children in a good way. He hit a roadblock every step of the way, from the radio guy to the lunch ladies, to the principal of the school and even the superintendent and! The radio host was so closed-minded that all he could say was that they weren’t going to eat lettuce all day.

Second, I was amazed that out of an entire first grade class, not a single student could identify a tomato, potato, cauliflower, broccoli or eggplant. OK, so maybe I didn’t know an eggplant in first grade either, but a potato? They sure knew what french fries were, but they did not know that they were made out of potatoes! Seriously?

Lastly, the amount of junk that kids are fed schools is disgusting! I have had an issue with the lunch program at my kids’ school for a while, but this show really made me want to do something about it. My problem with our school lunch program is not only the food they serve, but also what they don’t serve. Specifically, the school lunch costs $2.05 and that is supposed to include an entrée, vegetable, fruit and milk. However, even if my daughter only asks for milk and pizza, it’s still $2.05. They shuffle the kids through like cattle and only give them what they ask for. What happened to providing a balanced lunch? Not to mention getting what we are paying for.

If they would give each child the full lunch, perhaps a lot of it will end up in the trash. But, you know what? If the kids are still hungry after their pizza, maybe – just maybe – the corn and peaches will look appetizing and they will at least try them. They say kids need to try new foods an average of 10 times before they acquire a taste for it. So how are they going to be introduced to new foods if the schools are letting the kids only choose the fun stuff? We’re talking about 6 and 7 year olds here!

Alternatively, if the schools will not accept the responsibility for introducing new foods to our children’s palate, then charge on an a la carte basis. If she only wants pizza and milk, then only charge for pizza and milk. Don’t charge for a full lunch that she was never given.

I have joined my daughter for lunch on several occasions and, let me tell you, it’s really hard to choke down the processed food they serve. I would LOVE to have Jamie Oliver come to our school and revamp the menu! Learning healthy eating habits has to happen in school. Why wouldn’t we want to encourage that? Now, I’m not saying that it is entirely up to the school to teach our children how to eat healthy; I try to provide healthy, balanced meals at home. But, if our kids are going to eat 160+ meals each year in school, then that food should be good for them, too.

If you are as outraged as I am about the state of the public school lunch program, click here to go to Jamie Oliver’s site and sign the petition he is planning on taking to the White House: http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution/petition. The purpose of the petition is to show the President and First Lady how many people care about our children’s health and to ask for their support in making a positive change. Jamie’s goal is at least 1 million signatures. If we don’t take action, who will?