Jamie Oliver in Union Square. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Really Short
Some of you may know, although many of you probably do not know, that I am from West Virginia. And some of you may have heard the buzz surrounding Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution being filmed in Huntington, WV. I am not from Huntington. Huntington is about 200 miles from where I live; however, that’s just a hop, skip and a jump here in WV. I was interested in this show because I have already read about the outcome from some local newspapers, so I know how the show ends and what the outcome is. What I didn’t know is how the show begins.
I watched a clip of a couple minutes of the first episode that aired on March 26th, and I have to say that I felt my face turn red from embarrassment even though there was no one else in the room with me when I watched it. Although West Virginia has a bad rep and is the butt of many stereotypical jokes, I’ve never been embarrassed to say, “I’m from West Virginia and proud of it!” That changed for just a second when I watched this clip. I was not only appalled, but ashamed and incredibly sad. Not because the show is indicative of how things are in my household, nor the whole of WV, but indicative of how things are for hundreds of thousands of children across this country. This isn’t just another jab at WV. This isn’t just unique to my beautiful state and I was a fool for thinking so, even if just for a split moment.
The following is a link to the clip I am talking about. Please take a moment to watch.
If, after watching the above clip, you would like to get involved, one thing you can do is support the efforts of Jamie Oliver. Please visit his website and sign the petition.
WOW!!! I’d heard about the show but hadn’t taken the time to watch. I’m amazed that children could know so little about basic foods. My eyes welled up with tears just thinking about all those children that haven’t had the privledge of having a parent in the home making them nutrious meals. I hope Jamie’s quest can bring about a revolution. Lord knows our country needs it.
As a former 300 pound woman who is now all about clean eating, I have been DVRing the show and making my husband watch it. While he hasn’t struggled with his weight the way I have, he is all about eating burgers and fries, drinking soda and not exercising. It is very frustrating since we have a 4 year old who is now snubbing my veggies and fresh food in favor of the junk! We need to change America’s relationship with food and that starts with the children.
Hear hear, LoriAnn! Thanks so much for leaving a comment!
I, too, am from West Virginia (further north than you … I’m way up in the northern panhandle). And, like you, I’ve been proud to call myself a West Virginian. But, that changed when I watched the first episode of Food Revolution. How did these children not even know what various fresh fruits and vegetables looked like? I’m so hooked on that show and am anxious to see the outcome. I think our nation is eating quite unhealthy. When that mother put a week’s worth of food on her table, I cried and told my husband that it looks like what we have in our freezer and cupboards except that I always add a veggie to our meals. Then I realized, “BIG DEAL”. Adding a veggie to a pre-packaged, unhealthy meal does NOT make it healthy. In fact, it was that first episode that made me want to start researching and begin cleaning out our cupboards to embark on a healthy lifestyle by way of clean eating. Happy to have found your site.
God bless,
Sharon in New Cumberland, WV
Hello, Sharon P., fellow West Virginian! Thanks for leaving a comment.
Actually, I’m closer to you than you think. I’m not from the southern part of the state, and actually, I’m just a hair south of the Mason Dixon.
Stick with the show and hopefully they share what happened after the show. I wish more school districts would follow suit with what Huntington is doing, especially ours here in this county!
Good for you for making changes! I’m so happy to hear these stories. Even if the airing of this show only has an effect on just 1 person, it’s a wonderful thing!
Most of those kids looked to be 5 or 6. Perhaps the parents DO make healthy food for their children but the children don’t know what food LOOKS like before it’s prepared.
I’ve always made good food for my kids but I don’t think they’d recognize a head of cauliflower at that age. When they got older (8-9) they began helping in the kitchen and would begin to recognize different fruits and veggies.
Not to say that we don’t need a food revolution I just think this was not enough to say that all kids don’t eat healthy.
Hi Jenelle,
Thanks for leaving a comment!
I’m not sure anyone said that “all” kids don’t eat healthy? I know I didn’t say that, but I do know that, yes, by age 5, my children knew what raw vegetables looked like and what they were used for and they could name them. Maybe my girls have an advantage, though, since their grandpa is a farmer, one, and two, we took the time to teach them by letting them “help” do the grocery shopping and “help” in the kitchen. My youngest is 7 and just pointed out eggplants to me at the store recently. We have never even had an eggplant in our house and she has never eaten one, but she knew exactly what it was.
I can tell you that because our state is one of the poorest in the country and we have some of the highest obesity rates among all the states, even among our children, something is definitely wrong here. You can also see from Jamie’s show what is being served in our schools across this state. I think that many parents, not all, feel that junk food is cheaper than healthy food (and in some cases, that is true) and it would help if parents were taught about nutrition. Maybe the way to do that is through the kids, though.
I watched a couple episodes of that show as well. It was sad that he had so many adults that seemed to work against him (Those adults were uneducated about nutrition). I remember one episode where he was trying to serve only white milk due to the high sugar content in the strawberry and chocolate. But it was put back because the school felt it was better that they drank the sugary milk than no milk at all.
I was recently around a young girl about 7 or 8 who was overweight. I heard her asking everyone what their favorite fast food resturant and she would say her favorite items at each of those fast foods resturants. When I was her age in the 90s, we only ate at McDonald’s as a treat and once a month or less. That was also the only time I was allowed to have soda. It’s sad to hear children talk about fast food as if they eat it on a weekly basis.
It’s not just children who are uneducated about nutrition. My local news in DC had a report on high sodium items. I was excited to see it, until I saw their “eat this not that” recommendation. They recommended eating Yoplait 99% fat free yogurt over cottage cheese because of the sodium levels. Does anyone else see that as being WRONG? Do you know how much sugar and crap is in Yoplait flavored yogurt?
I could go on, but I won’t
I recently read Tosca Reno’s books and I try to eat clean. I am still a work in progress, but I am trying.
Thanks for creating a great site!