Ok first of all, there's no need to go around calling everyone 'Brother' and 'darling' and 'sweetheart.' So stop. Could you be any more patronising? Kids can relate to you with out having to pretend they're actually related to you. If you were doing it in some weird hippie-dippie sort of way where you actually thought we were all related through some universal bond of mankind it would almost kind of but not really be less annoying. *BUT* I don't think you are, and we don't live on a commune. While making the world one massive commune full of free love, reason, and organics is very appealing to me, we need to come to the realisation that in order to fulfil a food revolution agenda, we need to attack it with the pragmatic realism of the lobbyists and bureaucratic automatons we're up against. That being said, what you're trying to do with school lunches is admirable but I think I've got tips to make it better. However, I need someone like you to make those plans come to fruition because I really doubt the British government cares very much for my alien thoughts on food. If you hired me I think we could make a great team.
Have you heard about the Edible Schoolyard, Jamie? Or perhaps the Farm to School program? Both are great ways to advance school lunches, and both give kids a direct role the planting and harvesting of the foods they eat in school. The Edible Schoolyard in my opinion is far superior because a kitchen is established on the school's site as well to explain how to make delicious, nutritious, seasonal food. In today's economy one of the first things to be cut is home economics programs, and many kids are growing up without the fundamental basics of food preparations. That's where you come in, Jamie! I don't have to explain that this is right up your alley: combining healthy food with the joy of cooking. However, many many many schools have turned down systems like this using a thinly veiled excuse about rodent infestation to cover up the problematic budget issues. If we got involved and created edible schoolyards, I think it would take off.
However, another option is still open and is being widely accepted in many states. Farm to School establishes a connection between a school and near-by farms. Schools go directly to the farm and assist with planting and harvesting, then the food produced is delivered to the schools. This is advantageous to all parties involved as it boosts PR for the farm, and urban/suburban kids get to get stuck into the mud a bit and later get to enjoy the fruits of their labour. It teaches heard work and encourages kids to try new things. It is also a lot easier for school administrators to get on board, as budget and health and safety issued are limited.
These two programs are essential for your food revolution to work, Jamie, and given the chance to work together we could really get a lot done. I want to start a program in Edinburgh, as I think it's time to show Scotland in a much more positive light than just deep fried mars bars, haggis, and that 'I hate Iceland' guy.
I think, given the chance and encouragement, kids would be well up for it. This whole thing goes back to the idea that if you give a kid a soda, then scold him and take that soda away because it's "bad," you're not really solving the problem and the kid gets upset because he doesn't really understand why his treat was taken away. If you give a kid carrot seeds, help him plant them, explain how all the healthy soil and the wrigglies in the earth are helping his carrots grow big, when that carrot comes out of the ground he'll be ten times more likely to eat it and will have a higher likeliood of liking it because it's his carrot. He took responsibility, he grew it, then he took the chance of tasting something different. That's how we start a revolution. Next step is teaching him how to cook it (cue Jamie style mashing, bashing, and chopping, maybe with a sprig of rosemary?)
Finally, Ryan Seacrest as your producer??? Really?
In conclusion, I wish our relationship was easier to understand, Jamie. I think the best thing to do is get me on your team and we can work out our issues in person and maybe help a few kids along the way.
In admiration and confusion,
Rachel xx
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