Nov 10, 2010 10:06 GMT  ·  By
LA schools don’t want Jamie Oliver and his “Food Revolution,” show may be in danger
   LA schools don’t want Jamie Oliver and his “Food Revolution,” show may be in danger

The first season of “Food Revolution” saw British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver attempt to change the way children in US schools eat. For the second season, he’s aiming to move headquarters from Huntington, West Virginia to Los Angeles – but schools here don’t want him.

As we also noted on a previous occasion, “Food Revolution” earned Jamie an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Show, while also bringing him satisfaction about actually managing to make a positive change in the way Americans view food.

He said from the start that the Los Angeles school system would definitely represent the biggest challenge for him yet – but perhaps he never thought it would be this hard for him to make it work.

Los Angeles Unified School District chiefs wrote a letter to the producers of the show (cited by the Daily Mail), telling them – in short – “thanks but no, thanks” to Jamie’s offer of changing the way their students eat.

It’s not that they’re opposing Oliver’s initiative for the sake of doing so or because they don’t want “some Brit” telling them what to do (as was the initial reaction in Huntington), they say.

Instead, they make it clear that they’re already on top of the situation, working with nutritionists and health experts to provide the best meals for the kids, which means Oliver’s intervention is not really needed.

‘Our feeling was that his time would be better spent or invested in other communities,” said Melissa Infusino, director of partnerships in the education superintendent’s office, says, as cited by the British tab.

“While we appreciate your interest in our school meal program, we believe our direct work with nutrition experts, health advocates, the community, schools and students is the most effective strategy for continued success and improvement,” Infusino adds.

In the same letter, Infusino admits that Oliver’s initiative comes “in perfect alignment” with the goals already set, and adds that sale of junk food has been banned, while fizzy drinks have not made their way in cafeterias as of 6 years ago.

“[Participating in the show] would prevent us from committing 100% of our efforts to our students,” the letter concludes.