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

    For our oral history and collaborative research projects we decided to do some investigating in Pitman's school cafeterias and the food they are feeding our children. We decided as a group that we are going to go to the local farm Duffield's and interview them on some area's that will help us better understand their methods of production and what part they play in the economy in the area. Alongside of that we are going into the schools to find out if they use the local resources they have available to them and find out if they are giving our children healthy options to eat. As a group we decided that each of us needs to form a few questions that we would want to ask each of these places. Here are a set of five questions for each.

 Duffield’s Farm
1.       Are any of the vegetables you grow here organic?
2.       Is it cheaper or more expensive to grow organic produce?
3.       Do you sell to local schools in the area?
4.       Would it be beneficial to you to sell to school?
5.       Is there a method or reason to the produce you grow at your farm?

Pitman School Cafeteria
1.       Do you buy products from local farms?
2.       Are there specific calorie measurements the children must have per meal?
3.       Does your budget on food affect the way you decide what food to purchase?
4.       And if so would you choose the healthier more expensive option or processed     
          cheaper option?
5.       Have there been any recent changes in the past few years in the food that is being
          served in the schools?
6.        If so what are the changes?

    Before watching the first two episodes of the British Chef Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution I was in the dark about much of what goes on in school cafeterias across America. It was Jamie's goal to get into schools across the US and try to change the food that we are feeding our children. Huntington, West Virginia is the town that he focused on being that it is known to be the unhealthiest town in the entire world. His goal was to show the town healthy options instead of eating processed, broken down food. 
    Throughout the first two episodes Jamie came encountered with many struggles trying to achieve this goal. He had many people against what he was trying to do and achieve for this town. When he went into the towns elementary school he was baffled by what he saw being served to the children. Everything that was being put out for them was process or had loads of unhealthy preservatives in it. He decided to conduct a test and make a fresh cooked meal from healthy non processed foods and give the children a choice to choose which meal they would like. The turnout was shocking to Jamie, almost every child chose the processed food over the home cooked meal. This disappointment just gave him more incentive to make a change in this school and was determined to get these children to enjoy healthy food. 
    After watching this just a few episodes it has made me really question what these schools are feeding to our children. Are the people in charge really looking out for our children’s health or are they just looking for cheap options to feed our kids. This has really given me the encouragement to look into this issue that is within schools nation and worldwide. I would highly recommend this short series to anyone who is looking to see what is truly going on behind the closed doors of the cafeterias of our schools in America; your eyes will be opened after only a few short minutes.

1. Are school lunches healthy for children?
2. Are there certain criteria that cafaterias must meet for school lunches?
3. Where does the food come from for school lunches?
4. Is there anything organic used in the school lunches?
5. What are the health standards of the kitchen in a school cafateria?
6. What has changed about school lunches over the past ten years?
7. Do schools really promote healthy eatting?
8. Why is America one of the most overweight countries?
9. Where is the most healthy country in the world?
10. Are there healthy options offered for children in school?

    Before reading the chapter "Conducting the Interview" in Like it Was, I never realised how many different aspects went into having an interview with sombody. There are specific things to prepare yourself for before, during, and after the interview that will benifit how your interview turns out in the end. For instance there are specifici types of interviews in which you need to choose specificially who to interview, such as if you wanted to write about a culture that is dieing out, you could conduct a "how to" interview on the specifics of their culture. 
    Two ways to prepare yourself for an interview is to first have a specific set of questions planned out before the interview begins. This allows for you to have a better understanding of what you are going to ask the person and will give you a general idea about where the interview could head towards in converstation. The next preperation method would be actually reading the questions aloud to a friend or someone who will listen. This allows you to be confident in your interview and shows that you know and understand what you are talking about. 
    When reading the sections about the different tips you can think about when conducting and interview there were many different points that I thought were very important for a person to take into consideration when interviewing. One fo them being from the section labled "Setting Up". I never thought about this untill reading this article but you need to make sure that while during your interview you are in an area far from distractions. Distractions can take away from the interview causing you to loose valuable information and focus on what is being disucssed. You need to try to find a quite, nice location comfortable for the both of you whThe last section of this chapter is what I found the most interesting, even though it wasn't very long I thought it was a great way to brainstorm questions for an interview. This sections was labled,"Looking at Old Photographs". By looking at old photographs of the event or time in history helps you pose questions about what was going on at that point in time. You can figure things out about the economics, fashion, and setting which can all be turned into types of questions you can ask the person being interviews.