Thaindian News

By Anita Thomas

For two months Jamie Oliver has been living in Huntington West Virginia promoting healthy food and healthy eating. Jamie’s revolution is trying to change the way our school system is serving breakfast and lunch to the children so they eat healthier and live stronger, longer lives.

Huntington, W. Virginia is listed as the unhealthiest place to live in the United States. With a population of over 45,000, forty-five percent of the adult population according to the CDC in 2008 has health concerns of which include obesity and diabetes. Jamie Oliver renowned chef and best selling author has chosen Huntington for his ABC reality television program because of these startling statistics. He is hoping to change those statistics dramatically by teaching not only Huntington residents but also all Americans proper healthy ea ting habits.

The food revolution in Huntington has been resistant to change, but in a few short weeks many have come around and embraced the change of their eating habits. The school systems are having budget problems and not able to provide fresh fruit and vegetables for the students in the Huntington area district. Speaking to school and government officials in providing change and asking for help in his program with budget constraints is an almost impossible task. On top of that Jamie now has to convince the students to eat the food he is preparing for the school lunches. If given the choice of French fries and pizza or Pasta with seven different vegetables, along with a fresh Caesar salad what would the students choose? To Jamie’s surprise the French fry line that day was empty and the pasta won with the students wanting more. This was a sign of success for the high school the elementary school is a different story.

Alice the head cook at Central City Elementary School is still a force to be reckon with when dealing with Jamie, she is hard to convince the change is better for all involved. The extra work Alice feels will not allow them enough time to prepare the meal in time for the students to enjoy. She has been use to and trained to cook the fatty processed frozen foods that take less time to prepare and Jamie now wants her to use fresh meat and vegetables and to top it off prepare the food from scratch. This he knows is either going to make or break his whole plan. Somehow he needs to show her that what he is doing will benefit everyone in the school system.

Jamie had asked that all the flavored milk to be removed since it contain more sugar then soda. When Jamie returned 48 hours later all the flavored milk was still there and being served to the students. He questioned school officials why and after jumping through a few hoops a dairy delivery truck showed up, removed the flavored milk and replaced it with all white milk. This was a huge relief for Jamie, especially to see the children actually drinking the white milk. Finally things were looking up and his plan was working, children were eating and enjoying the food. But when he leaves will his food revolution remain? The food fight continues in Huntington, West Virginia April 23, 2010 and we will continue to follow.