Jamie Oliver, who has already turned school food in the UK on its head, brings his documentary prowess to the US to try the same. I'm anxious to see what happens. It also comes just before a panel that some colleagues and I are doing at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, so it should lead to some interesting discussions.

The show, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, premiers March 26 at 9 ET/ 8 CT on ABC.

Packed lunches show that it's not just schools that are the problem

The media in the UK have been abuzz about school food ("school dinners") for five years now, and stories make front page news there (just as they have here in the last few weeks in the USA Today). Packed lunches, those that parents send from home, have been a big issue because the uptake of school dinners went down after Jamie Oliver's expose in 2005 and subsequent changes made junk food less available, leaving lots of kids to pack a lunch. A new study now shows that packed lunches in the UK are very far from being healthy. This video report from ITN summarizes the report:

Rachael Ray takes on school food

Another celebrity chef is taking up the cause of improving school food, making it tasty and nutritious, all without having to resort to disguising everything as burgers and pizza. Maybe this is the way to go, getting a star chef to lead the charge, much as Jamie Oliver has done in the UK.

Students Want Reform, Too

What Schools are Up Against

How will schools ever be able to work on nutrition if parents seek to subvert efforts? The same thing has happened in England as they have tried to make school dinners more healthy--parents passing junk food through the school gates!

Though I certainly don't think that students should be denied education (i.e., suspended) for violating food policies, that's not really the big story here in my mind. Why didn't the reporter ask the dad why he was bringing fast food to school for his daughter?

Meatless Mondays and Other Innovations in Baltimore

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8875625

School Nutrition Programs Get a Boost

The Senate has sent a bill to President Obama to expand funding for the Child Nutrition programs (among others). School food looks to be getting $1.9 billion in extra funding, more than even the School Nutrition Association was expected as of this summer. Part of this includes new kitchen equipment, but most will likely go to fund the increased number of free and reduced price lunches.

More can be found at http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091009/us_nm/us_food_usa_congress

Michelle Obama pitches gardens on Sesame Street

The First Lady is doing her part again, this time taking her gardening and healthy eating message to the television shows that kids watch.

Reuters reports that she will be on the season premier of Sesame Street pitching gardening to kids. Tune in on November 10, 2009.

More on the White House kitchen garden

On the day that President Obama is giving his speech to the nation's schoolchildren, I think it especially important that the video of the White House Kitchen Garden is on the same page. And here:

Spider-Man and Montel's Daughter Advocate for Healthier School Lunches, Including Vegeterian Meals

Tobey MacGuire has written to Congress about including more healthy, vegetarian options in the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act. You should write your representatives to share your opinions on school lunches, too.

Read about Tobey at http://celebrity-babies.com/2009/07/23/caught-caring-tobey-maguire-and-the-child-nutrition-act/

Montel Williams' daughter is doing much the same in a new TV commercial. This one is sponsored by HealthySchoolLunches.org, a venture of the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine.