Latest News on Healthy Kids Food
American Schools get the Jamie Oliver treatment
Jamie Oliver, one of the most famous UK TV celebrity chefs begins a new series, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, focusing on introducing more healthy school meals to American Schools.
On his website, Oliver states, “I believe that every child in America has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals, and that every family deserves real, honest, wholesome food. Too many people are being affected by what they eat. It’s time for a national revolution. America needs to stand up for better food!”.
Jamie’s first episode is in Huntingdon, West Virginia, which has been named as one of the unhealthiest cities in America with highest diabetes rate in the US. In the first episode, Jamie is berated by a local radio presenter and Jamie struggles to get his message about healthy eating across to a local elementary school that served pizza for breakfast.
Jamie Oliver is not the only one working on improving in school food nutrition and the nutrition of school meals. The School Nutrition Association (SNA) completed a survey of more than 1200 school districts across America in 2009 and found that nearly every school district offers students fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat diary, whole grains and salads.
The survey found most schools baked items from scratch and school nutrition programs have reformulated children’s favourites to make them more healthy, like pizza made from wholemeal flour with low fat cheese and low salt tomato sauce.
The SNA share a common goal with Jamie Oliver who are both working on increasing the healthy school lunches, and to improve the taste, nutrition, and use fresh ingredients.
The SNA has called for increased funding for school meal programs and has welcomed the increased media coverage and debate arising from Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution TV programme to emphasise the importance of nutritious school meals for more than 31 million children who rely on school meals every week day.
Source: School Nutrition Association, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution website
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Jamie’s Healthy Results
Recent research has found that Jamie Oliver’s healthier school dinners campaign has had a positive effect on pupil’s school exam results.
The research was undertaken by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) from Essex University, and were unveiled at the Royal Economic Society’s annual conference. The independent study showed that the performance of 11 year old pupils who had been eating Jamie Oliver’s school meals improved in science and English, while absenteeism due to ill health also dropped by 15%.
The study was based on pupils who sat exams in 2006-2007 who had been on the diet for at least twelve months prior. The researchers found the number of pupils reaching levels four or five had risen by 8% in science, and 6% in English. There was also a slight improvement in maths results.
Jamie Oliver’s campaign for a healthier school lunch, called Feed Me Better Campaign, begun in Greenwich, London, in 2004.
Jamie, said “It strongly suggests that we were right all along”.
The head teacher from Kidbrooke Secondary School, the first school to test Jamie Oliver’s menu said ” The children aren’t being stuffed with additives, they’re much less hyper in the afternoons now.”
During the Feed Me Better Campaign, Jamie hired nutritionists, who found that most school lunches contained less than half the daily recommended amount of iron, which is known to be important in children’s development and concentration.
Jamie Oliver’s new school lunch menus have been adopted by over 90% of the schools in Greenwich, London. The schools have banned processed foods and introduced iron rich foods, pulses, green vegetables and red meat.
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