Jamie's School Dinners
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Jamie's School Dinners was a four-episode documentary series broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK from 23 February to 16 March 2005. It featured TV chef Jamie Oliver attempting to improve the quality and nutritional value of school dinners at a typical British school, Kidbrooke School in the London Borough of Greenwich — a goal which ultimately lead to a broader campaign (called Feed Me Better) to improve school dinners throughout Britain.
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[edit] Kidbrooke School
At Kidbrooke, Oliver first encountered the school's seemingly fearsome head dinner lady, Nora Sands. Although the two clashed frequently over matters from kitchen technique to workload, Nora eventually became Jamie's most ardent supporter throughout the series and the campaign.
Oliver had his work cut out for him: firstly, the daily budget for school dinners was a mere 37 pence per child. Secondly, the students at the school were so used to eating processed meat products and chips that Oliver faced a student revolution when he banned junk food from the school. Thirdly, Oliver's unconventional ingredients and meal ideas startled the dinner ladies, increased their workload dramatically, and exceeded the allocated budget.
[edit] Boot camp
After a disastrous start at Kidbrooke, with students refusing to eat and dinner ladies threatening to resign due to overwork, Oliver organised a "boot camp" for dinner ladies in the borough, roping in the catering division of the British Army to demonstrate how to cook large amounts of food quickly and efficiently.
[edit] Durham
Statistically, the English county of Durham had the highest rate of health problems among school children in the country. Oliver visited a primary school in Peterlee, and realised that part of the problem with getting kids to eat healthier food was the food they were eating at home. He visited a young boy's family and convinced them to try a healthier home-cooked menu for a week.
[edit] Return to London
Returning to Greenwich, Oliver faced a student boycott of his new menu. He produced an education kit, and recruited children to work in the kitchen, demonstrating to them exactly what went into chicken nuggets, and teaching them to identify vegetables.
As the campaign gathered momentum, gaining increasing public support, Oliver approached members of the government, to barrack for increased funding for ingredients and staff wages in school canteens.
[edit] Results of the show and campaign
The British Government, and Prime Minister Tony Blair promised to take steps to improve school dinners shortly after the program aired. 271,677 people signed an online petition on the Feed Me Better website, which was delivered to 10 Downing Street on 30 March 2005. Certain junk foods (such as the notorious Bernard Matthews "Turkey Twizzlers" much derided on the show) were banned from schools by their local borough or county council. The Department for Education and Skills created the School Food Trust to provide support and advice to improve the standard of school meals.
