At first, Oliver worked on a school meal improvement project in his hometown of England. Inspired by his extraordinary achievements, Oliver began to emigrate to the United States in 2009. Oliver learned that more than 32 million children eat at school every day, and more than half of American children are overweight or obese. Oliver decided to find out the role of school meals in helping teenagers develop healthy eating habits, which will last for a lifetime.
After learning about American school canteens for a period of time, Oliver found that most students regard junk food as part of their school meals every day. He was surprised that so many students regarded greasy hamburgers and a bag of potato chips as healthy meals. What shocked him even more was that the school would provide such (unhealthy) food, especially other healthier foods, without spending more money at all. Sadly and inexplicably, school leaders and parents simply don't know the long-term damage and serious consequences of these foods on children's health.
With the help of American nutritionists, Oliver learned that Huntington, West Virginia is the most unhealthy city in the United States. Huntington's obesity rate, as well as the prevalence of heart disease and type 2 diabetes (both complications caused by obesity), are among the best in the United States. Oliver chose Huntington as a place to try his hand in America.
He first went to the primary school in the city and interviewed some primary school students. He was surprised to find that most first-year students can't distinguish common fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes and broccoli. Oliver said sadly to his family, "What have we taught our children?"
Oliver cooperated with a local hospital and the government of West Virginia to provide equipment and training for restaurant staff in various schools, so that they can efficiently and economically replace the junk food they provide to students with healthy, delicious and child-friendly food. The restaurant removed the greasy fried chicken pieces and replaced them with homemade chicken and vegetable soup. French fries and chips have been replaced by fried rice. Restaurants no longer serve high-fat and high-sugar drinks (such as strawberry whole milk or soft drinks), but serve fresh fruit juices, some of which are fat-free, all made of freshly squeezed fruits.
In order to further strengthen the improvement of campus meals, Oliver opened the "Jamir Private Kitchen" in downtown Huntington. Jamir Private Kitchen is a resource center where community members can learn how to make healthy food. Now it has been renamed "Huntington Kitchen", offering cooking courses, educational subjects on common health problems (such as cancer and diabetes) and cooking camps for teenagers.
The most outstanding part of what Oliver has done in Huntington is that it is sustainable. In real life, many projects can bring short-term changes, but once the camera is removed, everything will return to normal ... this situation is too common. But in Hanting, we are not worried about this: after many years, new employees in the school canteen can also be trained according to Oliver's recipes and learn how to cook fresh and nutritious food for children in the community.