This is a collaborative blog done by: Tarrah Martinelli, Nicole Flesch, Chelsea Ernst, and Lindsay Finkelstein

Throughout this process, we have experienced a lot of difficulty going about our research the way we had planned. Our original goals were to interview people who directly effect the food that students are served for school lunches. Since we had direct contacts with personell in those positions, we thought we were set. We quickly realized that the nutritional values of school lunches is an extremely touchy subject. Many of our contacts would not even respond to our emails or phone calls. These were people that we talk to frequently, but apparently wanted no part in our research. One example was when Tarrah contacted the directer of food services from the school district that she not only attended but also worked for. She grew up playing softball with the woman's daughter, and frequently sees her and has to contact her for her job. After two emails and a phone call about the research, Tarrah had to once again email her about snacks for her after-school program. The snacks arrived two days later, without any email response. Nicole had a similar experience. She went to the high school that she attended and explained to the secretaries what our research was, and left a note for the principal. Surprise, surprise, they never contacted her. 

Once we finally landed our interviews, we had difficulty being able to actually video the interviewee's and give their information. Two of them specifically chose to be left completely anonymous (Chelsea and Tarrah's interviews). They still answered all of our questions which we were grateful for, but it once again showed how unwilling people are to discuss this matter. Now we can understand a little bit why Jamie Oliver is experiencing so much resistance. The question that this raises for us is, why are people so hesitant to talk about it? What are they afraid of?

Throughout our research and interviews our group though it would be interesting to see what lunch option they would pick when given a choice. In Bells Elementary School, the students are given a choice of Six different options: Lunch of the Day, Hoagie, Hot dog, Salad, Smuckers PB & J, Cold Platter, or Chicken Patty. Also, they offer Vegetarian options such as: Meatless Chef Salad, Vegan Salad, and Fruit Salad. Our group was very impressed with the variety of choices the children were given. This is such an improvement even from when we were in Elementary School. I (Nicole),am currently observing in Mrs.Barca’s first grade classroom on Tuesdays. I took a tally of what the students got for lunch that day. Twelve students picked the Lunch of the Day which was chicken nugget and french fries. One student picked a hot dog, one student picked cold platter, and five students brought lunch from home.

            Also , we paid close attention during snack time to what the students were eating. There were items such as Doritos, fruit roll ups, Fritos, Oreo Cakes, cookies, gummy fruit snacks, and gold fish. A few students did bring healthy snacks such as carrots, apples, raisins, and pretzels. Our group strongly believe that children will eat whatever their parents pack for them. When children are hungry they will eat anything. Parents’ are most responsible for what children eat.

Collaborative Blog: Tarrah Mart, Lindsay Finkelstein, Chelsea Ernst, Nicole Flesch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXmF_erEv1o (video wouldn't work as a youtube attachment)


Summary
In this video, the producer and director of Food Inc. Robert Kenner, and the author of Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan, get together for an interview for CBSNewsOnline. They discuss how "Our food has been fundamentally transformed," (Kenner). The nutritional value of our produce in a supermarket has been diminished due to the goal of making food as cheap and abundant as possible. Pollan discusses the historical aspects of how we have gotten to this point, where it started, and how fast food is driving our nation. Due to this, we have an issue with obesity and malnutrition in our nation. The workers and animals are "brutalized," which in turn is adding additional moral "costs" that we are not aware of (Pollan). Kenner goes on to discuss the hardships he faced trying to get these food organizations on camera. There is a lot of information that the corporations are trying to keep from us. Pollan discusses how we are subsidizing the wrong foods. We are making all of the unhealthy things cheaper rather than the healthy which is affecting our society. To sum things up, they both discuss how we are on the verge of a national movement. Ominvore's Dilemma and Food Inc. are meant to be a jump start to this movement.

Reflection
This video gives a great background to the driving purpose behind both Food Inc. and Omnivore's Dilemma. One of the most controversial points that they raised was how these major corporations are keeping from the public what is going on with our food. It is our right to know that we are not eating real tomatoes, carrots, etc. One of the most alarming facts was that not only do they make genetically modified food now, but they are literally cloning food as well. We have a right to know what we are putting into our bodies. The facts about how unhealthy food is made cheaper than healthy food which is part of the reason people don't buy it, is also alarming. Is this not the total opposite of how it should be? Overall, every point that they made should alarm the people of our nation. Our group clearly is, which is the driving force behind our project.

Collaborative Group Blog: Tarrah Martinelli, Chelsea Ernst, Nicole Flesch, Lindsey Finklestein

    As a group we all looked at the website "Local Matters" and checked out the different aspects that go into schools and the local food organizations. Lindsey Finklestein, Tarrah Martinelli, and Nicole Flesch.

After looking at the link  "Local Matters,"  our group doesn't think we could find anything more perfect to parallel with our project. The First Lady of Ohio, Karen Walbillig Kasich has made a $95,000 contribution to the Local Matters organization, which is working to curb childhood obesity. Local Matters has a program called Food Matters, which teaches children, parents, and teachers about nutrition, cooking, and gardening. They go to thirty-five classrooms each week. We think this is incredible. It is one thing to blindly change the lunch programs for children, but after this meal if students simply go back the same habits at home because of a lack of education, the change was not accomplished. Though we still definitely agree with changing the lunch programs, we think this next step is truly what the schools need.
The program is hoping to spread even further soon. They are also focusing on Ohio-Grown foods when discussing healthy options. The program institutes twenty-eight weeks of lessons for the children so they can understand where the food comes from and why it is important to know this. With the additional funds, the program hopes to expand and reach even more children in the schools.

    When entering Duffield's Farm into your search engine on your computure you are confronted with an extremely interactive and informative webpage. Duffield's homepage welcomes you with an array of unique and different options to click on and explore while visiting their site such as lessons, parties, hayrides, maket and many more. Each of these differet tabs offers you a variety of different information all gearing towards whatever fits your needs. They have rich informations concerning the production of their crops and the methods they use to harvest. Another great topic that is discussed on the webpage is about organic grown vegtables, it discusses the chemicals that are used and the different stipulations that require foods to be organic. Lastly but definately not least my favorite affordance about this site is that they offer lesson plans for teachers to use within their classrooms. This is great because they are allowing for teachers to incorperate the learning process of what goes along with growing vegtables and healthier ways of eatting. This is a great site for you to visit if you ever have some free time and are just browsing the web.

This is a collaborative post between all of our group members to decide on the interview questions that we definitely want to use.

1. Do you buy products from any local farms or produce venders?
2. Are there any specific nutrition requirements? For example a set amount of calories or food groups per meal.
3. What beverages are provided?
4. What changes have you undergone in order to make school lunches healthier for the students?
   
5. Were these changes due to district requirements or National FDA guidelines?
6. Is your budget on food affect the products that you buy? If so, would you choose the healthier yet more expensive option, or the processed cheaper option?
7. Do you think the lunches could still improve or do you think they are good as of right now? Explain.
8. As a parent, are you satisfied with the nutritional value of these lunches? To be more specific, would you feed the same foods to your children at home?

-Tarrah Martinelli, Lindsay Finklestein, Chelsea Earnst, Nicole Flesch