Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Food Revolution Heroes

Our Heroes are people in communities all across America who are bringing the Food Revolution to life. They are combining their own passions and know-how with what they've learned from the Food Revolution. They are helping us all eat more fresh, healthy food. Use their ideas to make change in your community.

Ali Berlow, Island Grown Initative & Edible Vineyard

Ali is, in her own words, “just a housewife”. Yet over the last six years, she has created something remarkable on Martha’s Vineyard. As founder and former executive of Island Grown Initiative (IGI) - a non-profit dedicated to supporting local farmers and raising awareness about the importance of local food for health, environment, economies and community - Ali has transferred the food system on Martha’s Vineyard. Island Grown Initiative involves the local community and schools in food education and sustainable growing, and improves the farm-to-plate supply chain to enable people to eat local foods.

Thippi Fleckenstein, Food Revolution Community Leader

Thippi is a long term Food Revolutionary working tirelessly to promote the message of the Food Revolution and to activate and inspire her community to get involved in the food they eat, both within schools and homes. Thippi founded the Noodleonthat Food Revolution group which is thriving in her community, she has set up her own cooking classes, is in the process of getting a community garden in place and hosts and attends various events where she spreads the mission of the Food Revolution, engaging others to get involved and stand up for real food.

Kim Gerber, Nutrition Advocate & Creator of Out of the Box Food

Kim is a Los Angeles mom, wife, home-cook, children's nutrition advocate and long time Food Revolutionary. Having noticed a difference in her children's mood and behaviour after eating processed foods, Kim created Out of the Box Food where she shares recipes for fresh, healthy and cost-effective alternatives. As a school food advocate, Kim has set up a health and wellness committee and successfully advocated for her childrens school district to remove flavored milk. Kim shares her knowledge, experience and tips to help others fight for better food and nutrition in order to improve their childrens health and is a regular participant in Food Revolution cook-offs and twitter parties!

Brent A. Marsteller, President & CEO, Cabell Huntington Hospital

When - during taping of the first season of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution - Jamie challenged Cabell Huntington Hospital to fund the training of all school cooks in Cabell County (WV), so they could prepare healthier meals from scratch – and to fund the first year of cooking classes at Jamie’s Kitchen - hospital CEO Brent Marsteller didn’t even flinch. Since providing that initial $150,000 in support two years ago, Marsteller and Cabell Huntington Hospital have contributed more than $100,000 in additional funding to keep Huntington’s Food Revolution alive and strong, and to spread it to neighboring communities and across the country.

Amy Kalafa, Filmmaker, Farmer, Holistic Health Counselor

Frustrated that the local schools were undermining the food education she was giving her children, Amy set out to learn what could be done to improve the school food environment. Her documentary film, Two Angry Moms, has inspired a grassroots movement. The sequel is a book. LUNCH WARS: How to Start a School Food Revolution and Win the Battle for Our Children's Health - written for parents and school administrators who want to know not just what's wrong with school food, but how to fix it. The book is loaded with stories and solutions that provide a roadmap for a sustainable school food system.

Amy Kehs, 'Amy's Food Revolution' Blogger & Cooking Teacher

Amy Kehs is a wife, mom of two and small business owner in Maryland. Before her cooking adventure started in March 2010, she was a reluctant cook who was always looking for motivation in the kitchen. After watching the movie Julie and Julia, Amy decided a similar challenge was what she needed. She chose Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution cookbook and spent the next 365 days cooking all 173 recipes. Along the way, she was invited to share her story and teach classes at Whole Foods. Amy’s blog was also an inspiration for many to cook themselves for the first time.

Kate Adamick, Co-Founder of Cook For America

As co-founder of Cook for America®, Kate uses her skills as a chef, attorney and consultant to help schools across America serve cooked-from-scratch meals. Through her Cook for America® programming, Kate and her team teach food service workers how to cook fresh, whole foods and how to save money in the process. Her motto is that “school food is the solution, not the problem.” Among Kate’s successful projects are the Orfalea Fund’s s'Cool Food Initiative, Colorado Health Foundation’s Healthy Schools project, and Children’s Health Foundation’s Lunch for Life project. www.CookForAmerica.com.

Jennie Cook, Co-Founder of Food for Lunch

Jennie is an organic chef and trained permaculturist who has created fresh menus for Hollywood parties and film productions for 25 years. Jennie has recently set her sights on improving public school food in LA and has co-founded a grass roots group named Food for Lunch. The campaign actively engages the LAUSD on menu improvements, sustainable packaging and total sugar reduction by putting forward a clear list of nutritional demands. Food for Lunch also helps parents advocate for pilot programs aiming to eliminate chocolate and flavored milk meal service by working in concert with concerned principals and nutrition directors on a school-by-school basis.

Peggy Curry, Co-Founder of GrowingGreat

As a mother of four, Peggy decided that she wanted to encourage lasting lifestyle changes in her community. She created Growing Great, a non-profit organization that trains parent volunteers to deliver comprehensive standard-based classroom nutrition lessons, school garden plantings, and harvest-of-the-month tastings. After 11 years, Growing Great has interactive programming in 12 school districts in California, Hawaii, and Las Vegas. Their rallying call? Choose a wide variety of colorful whole foods close to their original source. Peggy and Growing Great have planted the seeds of excitement for healthy eating in over 40,000 students and their families.