- November 18, 2024
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Fifth–grader Joshua Jeffers took a bite of the rainbow salad wrap he and his group created Friday morning and the look on his face was not one of satisfaction. The wrap, which was chock full of fresh vegetables, was the featured recipe that world renown chef Jamie Oliver taught through a streaming cooking class to students throughout the world that morning as part of Food Revolution Day.
“I think it’s the beets,” Jeffers said after spitting out the first bite of his wrap into a napkin. “I think it is too many beets.”
But he didn’t give up. As the rest of his team chowed down on their veggie-packed creations, the beet-died dressing dripping all over the place, Jeffers took another small bite. He said he wanted to try it again. He wanted very much to like it.
May 16 was the third-annual Food Revolution Day, which is a joint campaign organized by the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation in the UK and USA, as well as The Good Foundation, in Australia.
With over 40 million children worldwide now overweight or obese by the age of 5, Oliver says it is the duty of governments, businesses, schools and parents to work together to help reverse this preventable situation.
“Getting kids cooking from as early as possible helps them to develop an essential life skill which will have a huge impact on their future health and wellbeing,” Oliver wrote.
This year, Oliver also had goals of breaking a Guinness World Record title for the most participants in a cookery lesson in 24 hours. The students at Rymfire Elementary School contributed to the possibility of achieving this.
Food Revolution Day ties into the elementary school’s flagship program of medical sciences, health and fitness. The motto of which is; “A prescription for a healthier you.” The mission of the flagship is to teach students the importance of a healthier lifestyle through experiences that focus on exercise and nutrition.
The fifth-graders were not the only ones participating. The whole school jumped on board with different age-appropriate projects in each classroom. One of the notable projects was a combined effort between the fourth-grade teachers to use blender bikes to make healthy smoothies.
The two bicycle powered blenders, which were featured on “Shark Tank,” were purchased for the schools flagship program and have been getting use from not only the students, but the teachers as well.
“It's amazing to see that that many teachers have come up with this many healthy things to do during a regular school day,” said educator Beth Blumengarten, one of the event organizers.
