Revenge of the Lunch Lady

In 2009, British chef Jamie Oliver visited Huntington, West Virginia, and was appalled at the processed food the schools were serving. He brought in a test kitchen and developed recipes that used fresh produce and a variety of ingredients (for the TV show Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution), but got little in the way of thanks. For one thing, the kids did not like the food. Another problem was that his dishes did not meet federal nutritional standards for the school lunch program. Besides, there was a set budget for meals that schools could not afford to step over. What to do? Cabell County food service director Rhonda McCoy went to work, and made it happen.

But to understand the difficulties in serving good food, that kids like, that meets federal nutrition standards, within a budget, in a school kitchen, you have to know a little about the changes the U.S. school lunch program has undergone in its 70 year existence. It's a story of differing goals, conflicts of interest, lobbying, budget cutbacks, subsidies, and grants. You'll get a good overview of McCoy's work and why it will be hard to replicate everywhere, at Highline.

(Image credit: Sam Kaplan)