Obsessives: School Lunch Revolutionary

Published on Wednesday, October 8, 2008, by Meredith Arthur, Eric Slatkin, and Blake Smith / Edit Post

Obsessives: School Lunch Revolutionary

By Meredith Arthur, Eric Slatkin, and Blake Smith

Ann Cooper was a celebrity chef before she wrote a book, Bitter Harvest, that got her thinking about the connection between food and health. She has spent the past three-plus years as head lunch lady for the Berkeley, California, school system, writing another book, Lunch Lessons, along the way. Ann’s mission? To make sure every kid gets the healthy breakfast and lunch he or she needs. And soon Ann will be helping feed kids beyond the Bay Area, as she heads to the Boulder Valley School District in Colorado.

This is a regular series called Obsessives, in which CHOW explores the worlds of singularly focused food-industry figures. These are the people with the dirty hands, answering detailed questions about the work they do.

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  • I completely agree with the concept that kids should be eating no trans fats, high fructose corn syrup or highly processed foods. So this is certainly a step in the right direction.

    But in terms of diabetes, it's not only simple, refined carbs that are a problem but also carbs in general. Fats and animal proteins--which have been demonized in the last 40 years or so--provide essential...+READ

    I completely agree with the concept that kids should be eating no trans fats, high fructose corn syrup or highly processed foods. So this is certainly a step in the right direction.

    But in terms of diabetes, it's not only simple, refined carbs that are a problem but also carbs in general. Fats and animal proteins--which have been demonized in the last 40 years or so--provide essential nutrients. And science and research are confirming that eating fat does not lead to obesity and heart disease.

    So while I commend Ms. Cooper and think she's largely on the right track, I would hope that she and others like her carefully review the evidence and offer a more carb-restricted diet to the children.-COLLAPSE

  • bull shit

  • Brilliant...Thank you for getting this message out. Like most of America's woe's, our school lunch travesty is linked to big corporations making a buck, not what is best for American lives. U.S. School lunch programs are a racket. Thank you Ann. Teach the school administrations how they can get out from under the thumb of the US School lunch program.

  • Probably very tasty :)

  • It's great to see someone so passionate about this that has been able to succeed in bringing healthy food back into school kitchens. It's sad to see the video sponsored by Pepsi.

  • Great Video! You go girl!!!

  • Wow. It's good to see someone finally doing something, somewhere. I was appalled when local high school cafeterias were replaced by fast food restaurants. We're teaching our children to eat bad food, and it is no wonder things like obesity and diabetes are way up. A lot of my daughter's friends were "vegetarians," and all they would eat for lunch were french-fries with ketchup. It doesn't...+READ

    Wow. It's good to see someone finally doing something, somewhere. I was appalled when local high school cafeterias were replaced by fast food restaurants. We're teaching our children to eat bad food, and it is no wonder things like obesity and diabetes are way up. A lot of my daughter's friends were "vegetarians," and all they would eat for lunch were french-fries with ketchup. It doesn't surprise me at all that the kids were angry when their nachos were taken away. They've never been taught what good food is.

    When I was a kid, it was unusual for kids to be overweight. Now it seems to be the norm.

    I'm sure some people watching this were scratching their heads in regard to the diabetes thing. Most people seem to think that diabetes is just one of those genetic luck-of-the-draw things. We spend billions of dollars trying to find a "cure," when the real answer is not to give it to our kids in the first place by feeding them junk. Why is this simple answer ignored? Because big drug companies don't make money if things get cured, they only make money by selling drugs to treat the symptoms, and the more people with the disease, the more money they make.

    My hat is off to Ann Cooper. I just wish there were more "lunch ladies" like her. (No offense, chef. :) )

    And, I agree. Blow up the USDA. They don't care about nutrition, they care about appeasing the large business interests in the food industry.-COLLAPSE

  • A guy named Tony Geraci is doing some amazing things with school lunches here in Baltimore. Check out this article:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/05/AR2009050500876.html

  • What do you think she serves for breakfast? Looking for ideas.

  • In elementary school, my mom packed my lunch each day: Tuna salad, ham and cheese on rye, PB&J. No chips or cookies. I was always a skinny kid because, I think, we had half an hour of recess outdoors each day so we could run around like crazy. Also I lived next to a playground so after school I was able to ride my bike and play with my friends.
    To this day, I have not really dealt with weight...+READ

    In elementary school, my mom packed my lunch each day: Tuna salad, ham and cheese on rye, PB&J. No chips or cookies. I was always a skinny kid because, I think, we had half an hour of recess outdoors each day so we could run around like crazy. Also I lived next to a playground so after school I was able to ride my bike and play with my friends.
    To this day, I have not really dealt with weight issues. I think it's partly because I was so active as a young girl and partly because I didn't eat junk.-COLLAPSE

  • So sad that all schools in America can't have someone like her running the lunch program. And why don't we? hmmm....

  • fascinating! My Grandmother was a lunch lady in the 50's and from the stories - all the ladies in the community would get together and bring their recipes in and cook for the kids... and like Ann told - soon they all retired and what did I get when I went through grammar school? gloppy processed junkola! If she can make it work in Berkeley - why not in other places - because it is WORK - and...+READ

    fascinating! My Grandmother was a lunch lady in the 50's and from the stories - all the ladies in the community would get together and bring their recipes in and cook for the kids... and like Ann told - soon they all retired and what did I get when I went through grammar school? gloppy processed junkola! If she can make it work in Berkeley - why not in other places - because it is WORK - and let's face it processed is EASY-COLLAPSE

  • Hi DrBruin,

    Adblockers typically block Flash, so if you're able to see other videos it's possible that they aren't in Flash. All of our videos are Flash, so in addition to making sure the videos are accessible with your adblocker, you'll also need the latest version of Flash 10, which should be a plugin that you'll be prompted to download if you don't have it already.

    Meredith of CHOW

  • Great video!!

  • What's going on with Chow's videos... so many of them show the video as unavailable or blocked by an Adblocker installed in the browser. I have firefox and a very fast connection and most of the videos aren't blocked.

  • Where was this woman when I was in school eating strange slabs of "what the fuck is this?" We need more people like her who actually care about people and know what's going on.

  • Sounds very much like UK celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's school dinner project:

    http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/J/jamies_school_dinners/

    So, question is, for those of outside the UK or Berkeley, California, name those of us who don't have a Jamie Oliver or an Ann Cooper, how do we make sure local kids are getting a decent meal at school?

  • "So--we need to blow up the USDA." ROFL....

    I loved the video. Just the encouragement I needed to help me feed my step-son better. Thank you, Ann Cooper, and thank you, CHOW.

  • Talk about make you think, she really gets the point across.

  • The USDA is a govt. organization that supports big agri-business. It has boggled my mind for years that they get to design the "food pyramid." They control the school lunch program too???

  • Ann Cooper is a rockstar! I'll never think of cafe lattes the same way again! Where do I send my weekly $4.00?!!

  • I am absolutely in love with this woman. I bought my lunch in high school for four years - it wansn't healthy, and it wasn't good. So what was the point? I wish this had been my lunch lady.

  • She reminds me of Dominique Valadier.

    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91687769

  • Awesome! The world needs more foodies like this.

  • She is awesome! EVERY school nutrition director and parent with a child in school should see this video!

  • Michael Pollan is my love. Certainly one of my heroes. I was thinking about him during the whole video. But I sort of think about him every time I eat or shop for food.

    I think this is what I want to do with my life. Be a lunch lady. Like Ann.

    The health of our children is so critical to our future. She is so on point.
    This is how you teach nutrition and instill lifelong food habits. School is...+READ

    Michael Pollan is my love. Certainly one of my heroes. I was thinking about him during the whole video. But I sort of think about him every time I eat or shop for food.

    I think this is what I want to do with my life. Be a lunch lady. Like Ann.

    The health of our children is so critical to our future. She is so on point.
    This is how you teach nutrition and instill lifelong food habits. School is where it should start.

    How do we create nationwide change on this issue?
    It is part of Obama's healthcare platform. But (expectedly) hasn't gotten much or any media attention. Preventative care is where it's at.-COLLAPSE

  • Excellent video, goes along with the book I'm reading, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan.