Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

[Milpool]

I just watched the first episode. Holy ****. . . I really am scared to have kids now. Schools are becoming a serious problem, both in educational quality, and now in food quality. Damn.

 

[willpower]

I don't like his hair. Not one bit.

 

[oDD_LotS]

I'm actually very interested to see how this show plays out.

My wife and I actually live just a couple of blocks from "Jamie's Kitchen", which served as the community outreach center, teaching kitchen, and filming location for much of the show. It was a really great effort that they put into trying to make information and assistance available to anyone in the community that wanted it. They had a lot of free classes (most of which weren't even filmed), a cook book library with TONS of great titles, and even some neat community events (live remotes, street fairs, etc.). My wife actually worked as a volunteer for the community kitchen during the filming as part of an effort the two of us have made since early last year to get in shape and buck some of the negative stereotypes our town has earned and she was incredibly impressed by all of the crew (especially Mr. Oliver). They all seemed genuinely interested in Huntington and in helping those that live here. My wife has even decided to make the effort to become a registered dietician, in part due to her involvement with the Food Revolution project.

There has been considerable fighting from some members of the community, and the schools are having a bit of logistics issues in trying to switch over to the new plans, but a lot of us are really hopeful for what this could bring. I think with the right support, Oliver's work will serve as a catalyst for real change in a town that really needs it. The show certainly has moments that are a little hokey or that I don't agree with, but the real life impact has potential.

 

[gomestar]

^^^

This is cool to hear. I'm glad they actually put effort into education rather than just "show up" when the cameras are rolling.

 

[oDD_LotS]

It's not to say there haven't been issues with some of the initiatives, but yeah, it's been a really great program in Huntington.

In fact, the kitchen is still open to this day under the supervision of a fairly new non-profit in the area that has a general goal of providing health services and promoting healthy activity to low-income groups or to all groups at a low cost. It's a really beautiful space and a cool place to go take a basic cooking class or study the cookbook library. The classes were free during filming (even if the crew wasn't actually there, since the mostly filmed at night) and are now on a sliding scale to make them affordable for everyone.

 

[mondayc]

His ego needs a diet, but he is making an effort. My brother is working on getting a community garden in his son's K-3 school and the hoops he's had to jump just to plant some plants in a giant yard is boggling.
By the way, my brother got laid off last spring/winter and started his own garden. His kids got involved in weeding, harvesting, etc and went from not eating anything the color green to eating kohlrabi.

 

[lpresq]

Originally Posted by mondayc

His ego needs a diet, but he is making an effort. My brother is working on getting a community garden in his son's K-3 school and the hoops he's had to jump just to plant some plants in a giant yard is boggling.
By the way, my brother got laid off last spring/winter and started his own garden. His kids got involved in weeding, harvesting, etc and went from not eating anything the color green to eating kohlrabi.

Community gardens are the way to go imo. For some reason, this idea has not taken off in most cities, unfortunately. I live in downtown Indy and the need/want is def there, but there has been little movement in that direction. What sort of hoops did your bro encounter?

 

[mondayc]

Originally Posted by lpresq

Community gardens are the way to go imo. For some reason, this idea has not taken off in most cities, unfortunately. I live in downtown Indy and the need/want is def there, but there has been little movement in that direction. What sort of hoops did your bro encounter?
Well it's at the K-3 school and the idea is that kids help raise the food and then get to bring them home; eating them for lunch would be a whole different bureaucracy to deal with. Community garden probably wasn't the choice description. The first issue was the school administration. The principal loved his slippery slope fallacy ("Vegetables in the schoolyard? What's next, cows in the auditorium?"). It took about a month to get approved to start digging, but he had to get all the funding himself, which is hardly surprising considering the economic climate. Luckily he has a second job with a gardening store who provided some supplies and some local businesses decided it was a worthwhile cause (Trader Joes, a bike shop, compost producer, a few individuals with money/volunteer time). The the local tea party heard about this and assumed that their tax money was being spent on socialist teachings like community gardens (Not to turn this to CE, but you know you're a head-up-your-ass conservative when agriculture is liberal brainwashing). The principal didn't want to upset the teachers, so the garden was again on temporary hiatus. After a school board meeting explaining where he got the money, it was put back on track. Now my brother just paid the $350 insurance for the year in case some kid smacks another kid with a shovel, but otherwise it's all set to go. So in case of tl;dr, Misinformed stupid people slow down the process of community gardens.

 

[chobochobo]

He's still a mockney tw*t, you Americans haven't been suffering as long as we have in the UK.

 

[lpresq]

Originally Posted by mondayc

Well it's at the K-3 school and the idea is that kids help raise the food and then get to bring them home; eating them for lunch would be a whole different bureaucracy to deal with. Community garden probably wasn't the choice description.
The first issue was the school administration. The principal loved his slippery slope fallacy ("Vegetables in the schoolyard? What's next, cows in the auditorium?"). It took about a month to get approved to start digging, but he had to get all the funding himself, which is hardly surprising considering the economic climate. Luckily he has a second job with a gardening store who provided some supplies and some local businesses decided it was a worthwhile cause (Trader Joes, a bike shop, compost producer, a few individuals with money/volunteer time).

The the local tea party heard about this and assumed that their tax money was being spent on socialist teachings like community gardens (Not to turn this to CE, but you know you're a head-up-your-ass conservative when agriculture is liberal brainwashing). The principal didn't want to upset the teachers, so the garden was again on temporary hiatus. After a school board meeting explaining where he got the money, it was put back on track. Now my brother just paid the $350 insurance for the year in case some kid smacks another kid with a shovel, but otherwise it's all set to go.


So in case of tl;dr, Misinformed stupid people slow down the process of community gardens.

Geez, what's wrong with people? Tax dollars being used.....seriously? A shovel costs $10, seeds are literally $1, and the labor is free. What am I missing here? I guess people would rather look at a vacant, concrete lot than a garden or park....very sad.

 

[Johnny_5]

Anyone else like the flashmob/wok stir fry dance as much as I did?

 

[robertorex]

Originally Posted by Johnny_5

Anyone else like the flashmob/wok stir fry dance as much as I did?

I thought it was cool and there were flashes of corny college cuties, but I wish he would cook something besides stir fry.

 

[gomestar]

Originally Posted by robertorex

but I wish he would cook something besides stir fry.

I don't know if some of these people are capable of something beyond "take your vegetables, take your meat, but it in a pan and turn it on high"

 

[HitMan009]

Originally Posted by gomestar

I don't know if some of these people are capable of something beyond "take your vegetables, take your meat, but it in a pan and turn it on high"

Yes, It's a beginning. This ain't fine dining here....

Even if it's where most of these people stop, it's way better then the alternative.

 

[KJT]

Really liked his talk for TED.

I think he's a little annoying, but I sat through 20 minutes of this. His message is spot on and hard to argue with.

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/765

Despite his spitting-lisp, he's a convincing speaker. You can tell he's passionate about the subject.