“Jamie Oliver is here to start a revolution. The impassioned chef, TV personality and best-selling author is determined to take on the high statistics of obesity, heart disease and diabetes in this country, where our nation’s children are the first generation not expected to live as long as their parents. Oliver is inviting viewers to take a stand and change the way America eats, in our home kitchens, schools and workplaces, with this thought-provoking new series.”

Most of what I saw I expected: further confirmation that kids are becoming more removed from where their food comes from, further sadness that some children can’t recognize vegetables LIKE A TOMATO (c’mon kids, don’t you see the picture of the tomato on the ketchup bottle?) and increased angst about my son entering the public school system and being forever resigned to packing his lunch.

I think it’s great that the show highlights a growing number of advocates (like Kate Adamick) who have changed their career path to lobby for changes in the meals we serve our children and a switch back to made-from-scratch meals and away from processed fare. If school lunch reform is the basis for a reality show, you know a critical mass is concerned about the issue and more will be made aware of the obvious link between raising childhood obesity rates and what is being served in our lunchrooms.

On one hand, I do feel lucky to live here in Austin and be surrounded by people who care about locally grown food. On the other hand, I cringe when I remember mentoring a Fulmore middle schooler and seeing that her lunch consisted of hot Cheetos, Powerade and fries (I felt like I was seriously helping her by taking her to Pizza Hut!)

For those of you with school-aged children, how do you feel about what’s served in Austin’s schools? How do you feel it compares to what was being served in Huntington, West Virginia? What efforts are you aware about locally to improve what’s served to Central Texas students?

Written by: Nicole Basham

Needless to say, after a baby arrives you go into survival mode. Despite what you might read and what others might tell you, you really have no idea how much your life will change. That’s why having help is a lifesaver. We were very lucky as my family lives in town and my dad loves to cook, so we had amazing meals for a few weeks after the baby arrived. But most people don’t have that luxury.

If you know someone having a baby and would like to mobilize friends and family to help out, here are some tips on how to get started:

• Find out what the family needs. This might sound obvious, but you might ask the expectant mom if she needs any other help than food — it could be that her partner will be going back to work and you can drive her to a doctor’s appointment. Or she could need help with errands or laundry. It may be that you set up a food tree to start with, but let participants know that down the line you might contact them if other things come up. Also, don’t assume that if a woman is having her second (or third) child, a food tree is not needed — for these moms, it might even be more appreciated!
• Come up with a basic questionnaire to email. Assuming you end up setting up a food tree, email a list of questions. You should certainly inquire about food allergies/sensitivities (don’t assume you know!), food likes/dislikes and what restaurants they enjoy, to give folks the option to order carryout if they would prefer not to cook. Should meals be microwavable, or does the family plan to use freezer space to heat up meals? What time of day do they usually eat?
• Decide when friends and family should sign up. It’s great to start this conversation a month before the baby’s due, since it’s such a hectic time and you never know if the baby will arrive early. The new mom might want meals to arrive right when the family returns from the hospital, or doctors may advise that visits be restricted until the baby is a few weeks old to avoid germs. If partners go back to work two weeks after the baby is due, that might be a good time to start meal deliveries. Chances are, once the mom is home alone she would love some visitors. In addition to deciding when meals should start, you will need to decide how often the family would like meals. Friends might deliver meals that can last more than a day, and some expectant moms freeze meals to heat up when the baby arrives. Many food trees I have seen have meals twice a week, set to arrive in the middle of the week. This can also allow the new family to have meal deliveries last longer, instead of having 14 meals delivered in a 2-week span.
• Set expectations. Make sure participants understand that the new mom’s primary responsibility the first few months postpartum is to rest and take care of her child, so long visits might not be in the cards, and in fact, there is a possibility mama and baby will be sleeping during the drop-off. If you set this expectation at the outset, the new mom has “permission” to not worry about being a hostess.
• Relay contact information. It’s rare for new moms to be online, so make sure food tree participants know the best way to reach the family (it might be through the partner’s cell phone). Encourage friends and family who sign up to contact the recipient a day in advance so she knows when the meal will be dropped by. Some new moms put a cooler outside the front door in case they are out or if they are sleeping when deliveries are made.

A site I have used a few times is CareCalendar. Simple yet fully functional, you can communicate with a group about what needs the family has and provide a web-based calendar to sign up. Reminders go out to the recipient, the Coordinator and the volunteer, so once the calendar is set up, the organizer’s job is done.

Although this might sound like a lot of work, it isn’t and will make a HUGE difference in the first few weeks for a new mom and her family!

Is there anything I missed?

Written by: Nicole Basham

Monday

Pflugerville Pizza & Wing Pfactory

ZuZu’s

HangTown Grill

Tuesday

Serranos

Berryhill Baja Grill

Kerbey Lane Cafe

Central Market Cafe

Wednesday

Serranos

EZ’s

Moe’s Southwest Grill

Zen

Luby’s

Thursday

La Salsa (Mon-Thurs after 4p.m.)

Serranos

Saturday

Luby’s

Texas Land and Cattle

Iron Cactus