Season 2 of 'Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution' -- in L.A. -- set for Tuesday

 

Jamie Oliver kicks off the second season of his “Food Revolution” on Tuesday, showing viewers everywhere what Angelenos know first-hand: This city has a serious obesity problem.

But Oliver's healthful eating crusade was met with a cold shoulder at the start, something that will be documented as the show gets underway on ABC.

The ebullient Oliver doesn't give up, however. Although the end of the tale has yet to be determined -- he returns later in the month to finish shooting -- sources are already talking about the possibility of a peace treaty with the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Although the second season is set in L.A., “The same challenges are everywhere,” the British chef said Thursday in a telephone news conference to promote the show.

Improving the quality of school food has been high on Oliver’s list of projects, but for months he has tussled with the LAUSD and was kept from filming and working in school cafeterias -– something that was a centerpiece of the first season of “Food Revolution,” which took place in Huntington, W.Va.

In a rough cut of the first episode, Oliver sets up a tense stalemate with the school board. In fact, the faces of the board members and outgoing Supt. Ramon Cortines could be put into the “if looks could kill” category when he comes to them asking for entrée to a school.

“I never really expected to be banned from every single school in the district," said Oliver, who added that he felt plenty of support from families in the city for his mission of healthful eating in school and at home.

Oliver said at the news conference that he hopes John Deasy, who takes over as superintendent April 15, “is going to have a different strategy, a strategy that’s more inclusive.”

“My goal is not to fight with the LAUSD,” Oliver said.

The LAUSD on Thursday repeated its longstanding position on Oliver and his request. “We have already extended an invitation to Mr. Oliver to help LAUSD (sans cameras) with its menu committee or design a yearlong menu that meets all the health and nutritional requirements set forth by the federal and state government," LAUSD spokesman Robert Alaniz said. He added: "The invitation still holds."

During the conference call, Oliver noted that it was Cortines who kept him from the cafeterias, though he managed to spend some time in West Adams Prep, a school west of downtown that runs under a contract with the district, before he was told to leave.

“If John Deasy wants to talk to me and wants to do what I know the public wants … if he’s really clever, you know, he’ll let us in for a filming and we can have a dialogue,” Oliver said.

And on another front, Oliver has talked with consultant Kate Adamick about looking at the LAUSD food services department budget to see whether she can find money to add to the 77 cents the district says it spends on food for each lunch.

Adamick, whose Cook for America organization trains cafeteria staff in healthful budget-conscious cooking, stressed that the district hasn’t asked for her input but expects she could find savings and revenue by studying how the district gets, prepares and serves food.

“Of course, I would be very happy to help L.A. do that if they want me there,” she said from New York.

And Oliver's show is not all about the schools. In the first episode, Oliver runs into some resistance trying to reform a fast-food menu.

 

He also has other pots on the stove in his revolution campaign. The Jamie Oliver Foundation is working with the California Endowment and the American Heart Assn. to bring healthful eating to some of the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

A huge mobile teaching kitchen -– funded through donations -- is parked for now in the California Endowment’s lot while staffers get ready to offer cooking classes in South L.A., starting perhaps in June, said Kathlyn Mead, chief operating officer and executive vice president of the endowment.

Her organization is funding classes for residents in an area “barraged by fast-food joints." And the Heart Assn. will help get gardens planted in those same neighborhoods, she said.

“As those gardens are harvested, Jamie Oliver’s truck will be there,” Mead said Thursday by telephone.

The Heart Assn. and Oliver’s foundation will seek funds to open five permanent community kitchens to offer classes in Los Angeles, Dallas, New York, Cleveland and Baltimore.

-- Mary MacVean

Photos: Jamie Oliver at work in L.A. Credit: Associated Press

House committee passes 'Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act'

Everyone from Top Cheffers to Jamie Oliver to Michelle Obama agrees that our nation's school lunch program is hungry for change. And it's no wonder such prominent figures are ready for the next course of action, given that 1 in 5 children are obese or overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Thursday the "Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act"  was passed by the House Education and Labor Committee, bringing the nation's kids one bite closer to the possibility of more nutritious meals.

The act aims to improve access to school lunch programs, help schools improve the quality of meals by adding a 6-cent-per-child increase in budget, encourage partnerships with local farms, allow unused food to be donated to food banks, increase access to healthful food outside school hours and improve food safety and integrity. (For a full rundown of the stipulations, click here.) It allots $8 billion over 10 years to achieve those goals, quite a bit more than the $4.5 billion proposed by the Senate Agriculture Committee's Child Nutrition Bill passed in March.

"From our view [the Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act] is really the best child nutrition bill that we've ever had. It includes stronger nutrition standards and grants for farm-to-school programs," says Gordon Jenkins, program manager at Slow Food USA. "The amount of funding however, is very modest at the $.06 addition to the current $2.68, which leaves only about $1 for ingredients. It won't be enough to make a significant change. That can be modified on the floor if Congress hears it's important enough."

Both bills have now reached the floor and need to be passed by their respective chambers and reconciled before they can become law. 

Jenkins says it's important that the debate be scheduled soon, though. School lunches will be on the back burner during the month of August since Congress is on recess, and the current bill expires in September. "Last year, they had to pass a temporary one-year extension, putting the schools' programs in status quo. The schools will be encouraged but will not have funding. What it really means is that the bill will have to be rewritten and reintroduced again."

Michelle Obama issued a statement urging the House and Senate to take their child nutrition bills to the floor and pass them without delay. "The President looks forward to signing a final bill this year, so that we can make significant progress in improving the nutrition and health of children across our nation.”

-- Krista Simmons

Photo: Kids at Larchmont Charter showing off their school garden-grown tomatoes. Credit: Krista Simmons

A slight bug in the plans as Rachael Ray tries out NYC school food

The New York Daily News reporter covering Rachael Ray's foray into New York City school lunches the other day had a keen eye for detail, spotting a cockroach on a counter a few feet from Ray at Public School 89 in the Tribeca neighborhood.

-- Mary MacVean

(Photo of Rachel Ray by Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Federal panel calls for more produce, whole grains in school meals

More than 30 million children eat school lunches every day, and 10 million eat school breakfasts. If those children learn healthy eating habits at school and take those with them into adulthood, that could have some effect on the health of the nation, including the obesity that is plaguing so many people.

So says an Institute of Medicine panel in a report out today that recommends several changes to the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

For one thing, and this won't surprise anyone, more fruits and vegetables and whole grains would help, the committee says.

L.A. Unified has taken some steps already, serving brown rice and increasing spending on produce, from $3 million in 2006-07 to $12 million in 2007-08, says David Binkle, deputy food service director.

The chairwoman of the Institute of Medicine panel, Virginia Stallings, in her preface to the report, notes that in her childhood, school meals were meant to guard against undernourishment and iron deficiencies. But today, she notes, overweight children outnumber undernourished children.

-- Mary MacVean

(Photo: School lunch in L.A. by Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

Don't forget your school lunch ticket

If your house is like mine, it's time for forgetting. Now that kids are settled into a school routine, we start to take things for granted -- and that means forgotten gym shorts or permission slips or lunches.

If a student who pays full price for lunch in L.A. Unified schools forgets money or a lunch ticket, the cafeteria will provide half of a cheese sandwich and a four-ounce container of milk for free. That might be an incentive to remember lunch money.

The point of the policy is to make sure kids don't go without any food at all. The difficulty of tracking lost or forgotten lunch tickets is one of the reasons the district plans to change to an automated system within the next 18 months, officials say.

In past years, the district provided fruit and milk; the sandwich and juice are cheaper but provide the same nutrients, says spokeswoman Lourdes Vitor. The expected savings is $500,000, she says.

About three-quarters of LAUSD students get free or reduced-price lunches. If those students forget or lose their tickets, they can still get regular lunches, Vitor says. Depending on the school, they might have to get replacement tickets first.

Students can also buy lunch with cash.

Lunch prices didn't go up this year. It's $1 in elementary schools and $1.50 in secondary schools.

-- Mary MacVean

Photo credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

School lunch trays around the world

Already tired of getting up early to make school lunches? Already run out of ideas for what to put in that Hello Kitty or Spider-Man lunch box?

What's for School Lunch? is a fun blog that let's you see what's being served to schoolchildren in many countries. Maybe it will give you new inspiration, or maybe it will prompt you to hand over lunch money.

Sardines and rice in Japan, brown rice and beans in Haiti, a plate of vegetables in Sweden, and much more are pictured.

-- Mary MacVean

(Photo: L.A. Unified has an executive chef, Mark Baida, who here is listening to students about school food. By Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)

Four Food Events You Should Know About: Your weekend is made of food

SATURDAY

It's Greek to me Get your Zorba on at the 60th annual Long Beach Greek Festival. Enjoy a wide variety of authentic Greek dishes and pastries, including spanakopita, Greek barbecue, pork souvlaki and baklava. Also on the menu: traditional Greek costumes, dancing, music by the Olympians, game booths, carnival rides, specialty shops, a children's play area and more. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, 5761 E. Colorado St., Long Beach. Noon to 9 p.m., daily, through Monday. Adults, $3; children under 12, free. (562) 494-8929. www.lbgreekfest.org.

The frying game The L.A. County Fair is back and ready to give you and yours a fatty dose of food love. Come for the rides, people-watching and entertainment; stay for row after row of food booths featuring the snacks and treats that you probably associate most closely with your childhood including hot dogs, nachos, pizza, ice cream, sausages, barbecue, and of course, all things deep fried and golden. (Check out the story Elina Shatkin wrote about Chicken Charlie's booth and his Frankenstein-like fried creations.) 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona. Opening weekend lasts from Saturday through Monday. 10 a.m. to midnight, Saturday and Sunday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday. $17; or $1 if you arrive between the hours of 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. (909) 623-3111. www.lacountyfair.com.

SUNDAY

Why the sour face? If you're a devoted lover of pickled cabbage, consider attending the Machine Project's Kraut Fest '09. Sign up to learn how to make sauerkraut, kimchi or both. You bring the ingredients and you'll be provided with a "kraut kit," which includes a bucket, a plate and a hand silk-screened poster. Machine Project, 1200 D N. Alvarado St., L.A. 11 a.m., making sauerkraut; noon, making kimchi. $10 per demonstration, $15 for both. (213) 483-8761. www.machineproject.com.

MONDAY

Potluck for change Attend an "eat-in" in support of encouraging the introduction of healthful, locally sourced food into school lunchrooms. Those in attendance will share the food they bring, sign petitions and call their legislators. This event is being sponsored by Slow Food L.A. and organized by Jennie Cook catering. There are five additional eat-ins happening around town, so check the Slow Food website for times and locations. The Cesar Chavez Arboretum in Elysian Park, 835 Academy Road, L.A. 11:30 a.m. Free. (310) 850-1884. www.slowfoodla.com.

-- Jessica Gelt

Photo: Baklava. Credit: Rick Meyer / Los Angeles Times

Making kitchen a classroom for kids

In the movie "Ratatouille," the terrifying food critic, Anton Ego, transforms into a lovable human with one glorious taste of a Provençal tian, or casserole, from his childhood — zucchini, eggplant, tomato, thyme and cheese.

Good food, Ego discovers, excites our taste buds and our hearts.

For most American children, the equivalent taste memory will be grease-soaked chicken nuggets and French fries. New York-based registered dietitian Elisa Zied understands this. Her own childhood memories are connected to fast food as a treat — including her grandmother sneaking Whoppers with cheese to Zied while she was at sleep-away camp.

"You have to teach children from very early on to enjoy healthy food," says Zied, who changed her own eating habits as an adult and has written several books about healthy eating for families. "Changing a culture is not an easy thing to do."

But due in part to an alarming increase in childhood obesity, diabetes and other junk-food-related illnesses, healthy food movements targeting kids are sprouting all over the United States. From kids’ cooking classes to angry mothers demanding healthier food in cafeterias to vegetable gardens at schools, more people are looking to improve their families’ eating habits. Read more here:

Photo credit: Ariel Skelley / PR Newswire

Slow Food potlucks to lobby for more school lunch money

Looking for an alternative to another round of hot dogs and chips on Labor Day? Slow Food USA’s school lunch campaign, Time for Lunch, has half a dozen potluck “eat-ins” scheduled around Los Angeles. The idea is to get Congress to commit additional money to the National School Lunch Program; 30 million children eat school lunches every day in the United States, and some people don’t think the food is good enough.

Nearly 300 events are scheduled Monday around the country. Eat-ins are planned in 30 California cities; in Los Angeles, they’ll be in Highland Park, Culver City, Hollywood, Elysian Park and elsewhere.

Josh Viertel, the president of Slow Food USA, called the event “a virtual march on Washington. It will be a day when America shares food it believes in and demands real food for our children.” Slow Food, which has had a reputation as a “foodie” organization, is connecting with people in neighborhoods it has never been, he said.

School lunch funding is part of the Child Nutrition Act, legislation that is up for reauthorization this year. For every free lunch served at schools, the federal government pays a reimbursement of about $2.68.

-- Mary MacVean

(Photos from a preview eat-in in Chicago on Aug. 26, by Jenn Smith and the Meetup Eat Local Chicago)

Does this sound like dorm food to you?

Duck confit, pancetta-wrapped quail, butter-poached lobster tails, fried zucchini blossoms — not exactly how most collegians are expecting to dine when they head back to their school dormitories this fall. But those are some of the dishes that may again delight the denizens of Norris Hall at Occidental College in Eagle Rock come this semester.

Occidental junior Saul Sutcher is heading back to school with his ’87 Volvo packed full of his cooking equipment and dishes. Without objection from the school administration, he’ll again be setting up for Café Norris, preparing three-course gourmet meals served in the dormitory’s common room most Saturday nights.

Photo credit: Kim Kulish / For The Times