video:
Obsessives
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.
Excellent video, goes along with the book I'm reading, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan.
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.
She is awesome! EVERY school nutrition director and parent with a child in school should see this video!
Awesome! The world needs more foodies like this.
She reminds me of Dominique Valadier.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/st...
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.
Ann Cooper is a rockstar! I'll never think of cafe lattes the same way again! Where do I send my weekly $4.00?!!
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???
Talk about make you think, she really gets the point across.
"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.
Sounds very much like UK celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's school dinner project:
http://www.channel4.com/life/microsit...
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?
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.
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.
Great video!!
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
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
So sad that all schools in America can't have someone like her running the lunch program. And why don't we? hmmm....
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.
What do you think she serves for breakfast? Looking for ideas.
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/...