LAUSD Officials Explain ‘Food Revolution’ Decision

April 13, 2011 1:45 PM

British chef Jamie Oliver poses for the media prior to the opening of his new dinner show ‘Das Jamie Oliver Dinner Frankfurt’ on January 14, 2009 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (credit: Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images)

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LOS ANGELES (CBS) — After getting sliced and diced for their school food program, Los Angeles Unified school officials said they had good reasons to keep a reality TV chef off their campuses, including a bad experience with another reality show.

“What we ended up was a bill $106,000 taxpayer money for work that they did, shoddy work that they did,” LAUSD Spokesman Robert Alaniz said of another reality show called “School Pride.”

KNX 1070 Newsradio’s Jon Baird reports that LA school officials say they couldn’t find out how things went when “Food Revolution” taped in West Virginia because the authorities back East were sworn to secrecy. So L.A. said… no taping.

“We’re just not interested in the conflict or the drama,” Alaniz added.

The district insists it did invite Chef Jamie Oliver to come work with them without the cameras, but have not heard back.

Meantime, school officials feel they’ve made plenty of progress on making their menu healthier and they use kids for taste-testing.

LAUSD Officials Explain Food Revolution Decision

Lopes

The show made LAUSD look like idiots!!! Healthy food for the children?……..now that would be progress! The meals are garbage! We just pay for the big wigs salaries…that is where the money goes!
swhitS

COWARDS!
Phoebus

Let’s compare foods served at the LAUSD cafeteria….with the foods served the children throughout the district..AS WELL as foods served inmates at all State correctional facilities! You’d be surprised at how many levels there are in foods served..all in compliance with Federal Government Regulations…so would you want your children to be at the bottom of the scale or the top-you’de be shocked at the results. Think of it, if the food is inferior at schools as opposed to prisons- you won’t get small 40-50lb kids rioting with destruction and mayhem, as opposed to muscular 250lb inmates who get inferior food..hmm check into it people!
Sinic

Stop your whining and bellyaching. If you don’t like the food, make your own lunch.
End of story.

Tim

Many parent can not afford to provide a healthy lunch every day for their children, especially in LA’s abysmal economy. The children at risk are the ones on the federal free lunch program, which is about 78% of all students in LAUSD. Please keep your snide, elitist remarks to yourself.

ABruntStorm

Sinic, that’d be a lot easier if they weren’t starting to ban lunches brought from home in schools. Trust me I wish I had full control over what my child ate, but they’re starting to even take THAT away.
above avg joe

All of those losers like ramon cortines, monica garcia, yolie flores, nury martinez-
need to be voted the f..k out in the next election.

they are indirectly hurting our kids with their denial when sh!tty food is continually served.

good food is essential to learning. it has been proven time and time again. good food stimulates serotonin, which helps you think.
Sinic

ABruntStorm, yes you have a point that some schools ban “food” from home because some naughty kids spoil it for all the rest and bring pot and alcohol in their school brown bags. Not like 30 years ago when kids respected their teachers and really did go to school to get an education.
SteveB

Average reading level of a CA High School graduate is 3rd grade. The kids are being fed garbage, the LA USD is getting kick-backs, The parents don’t care what’s going on because there are too busy looking for work in a city with 25% unemployment. CA is an absolute failure of a state. It’s one of the many reasons that people who are able are leaving the state to the tune of 18,000 people a day.
Karina Rossy

There are only 6 episodes to this season and I read that there could be more!There’s still time to sign Jamie’s national petition and hopefully change the LAUSD food system just go to abc’s website for the link. I’m appalled from what I’ve seen so far and as a new mother in Los Angeles, I’m worried about my daughter attending public schools in LA. Microwaving food in plastic is TOXIC, so not only is LAUSD enabling the children to eat junk food and become obese, but they’re ALSO POISINING THE KIDS. Something must be done and a change is necessary.

Having Jamie’s Kitchen in Westwood was only going to help the college students and corporate employees who frequent that area. I hope they move the kitchen to the poorer sides of town where minority families can use the outreach. I’d love to see the kitchen near the West Adams Preporatory school because that’s where I live!

Jamie just wants to help the future of America while LAUSD wants to feed our future with junk because it’s cheap. To say that they are giving kids the choice of what they eat is absurd. Children will eat anything that has sugar PERIOD. A happy kid doesn’t necessarily make a healthy child which means their decisions can’t be taken seriously. I’m trying to find info on how I can contact the LAUSD authorities and perhaps sign a petition specifically to let Jamie Oliver film his show in their cafeterias, so if anyone has any info on that I’d really appreciate it. Thank you. Keep up the great work Jamie! Please don’t leave LA!

And I’m horrified to read that the reading level of CA high school graduates is 3rd grade. I’m originally from Texas in case someone was wondering. I really don’t want to struggle to pay for my daughter to attend private schools because of how incompetent the LAUSD system is making the children of LA. FEED THOSE KIDS SOME NUTRIENTS PLEASE.
Linda Van Slyke

Outrageous ! I think if you follow the money you’ll find some fat cat getting a kickback for the garbage the schools serve to the kids in this country. If our first lady is really concerned about obesity of the kids of our country maybe Jamie can get her behind him. Just a thought. Why aren’t the tax payers in CA not getting involved in this?
rtyecript

I really liked the article, and the very cool blog