January 2012 “Big Rig” Update

January 2012 “Big Rig” Update

Fri 10 Feb 2012

Story by Scott Bottemer & The “Big Rig” Team
 

“Big Rig” Long Beach to Santa Ana, California



The Jamie Oliver Food Foundation’s “Big Rig” mobile teaching kitchen finished Long Beach with a bang!

After twelve weeks at Long Beach Community College, the “Big Rig” hosted a two day winter event in partnership with: First 5 LA, Best Start LA, The California Endowment and Long Beach, Building Healthy Communities.

The “Nutrition Revolution” event had over 30 holiday trees, a snow making machine, a snow man and of course some cooking demos. There were Jamie Oliver treats for all who came by and they were delicious. We even had one of the local growers giving away fresh, organic veggies to those who attended. This event allowed the community to come by and ask questions to the JOFF staff and our community partners. The event was a big hit and it was a nice way to say good-bye for now to a great run in Long Beach.

Right after the event, the crew of the Big Rig began to close up the truck. Within a few days the Big Rig went into the shop for a brief clean up and repair. It was time to prepare for the next stop, Santa Ana, California.

January: Santa Ana



Santa Ana is an older community in Orange County, which dates back to the days when California was known for their orange groves and fresh fruit. Before that, during Mexico’s occupation, it was a ranch and farming community. Santa Ana is a beautiful city that is rich in history, with a quaint “Old Town” downtown, that resembles Main Street USA at Disneyland. It is now a center point for the Southern California area which makes a great place for the working class to live. There is a large Hispanic population, most being young families. This is a perfect stop for Jamie Oliver’s “Big Rig”.

Typical Mexican cooking is not all that unhealthy. Due to the cross culture from Mexico to Southern California, there seems to be an adoption of an American eating habit and the Hispanic community is forgetting how to cook and eat like Mexicans. The parents are working hard and Mc Donald’s seems to be the most economic and belly filling way to feed a family of six. Due to their new eating habits Hispanics are becoming obese and there is a huge outbreak of diabetes. Families are looking for ways to learn how to eat healthy and economically. Looks like a job for the “Big Rig”.

All clean and shiny, the “Big Rig”, drove into to the Latino Health Access parking lot in mid-January. With the first of two, five week classes starting January 23rd, to put it lightly…the community has welcomed the truck, the crew and most of all, Jamie Oliver’s message, with open arms.

Those who attend the class are asking questions like: Where do we get fresh veggies? Is this healthy? Why is that unhealthy? What shouldn’t we be eating? It is a sad day for the class when we talk about “Fab Fast Foods” and we actually break down how much fat, salt and sugar is in a Filet-O-Fish combo meal at Mc Donald’s. By the end of the class, the students get it! They also get to make Jamie’s version that is a Shake and Bake tilapia topped with Caesar on the lighter side that is served on a whole wheat mini bun, which costs about $1.40 to make, as opposed to the $5.25 heart attack from Mc Donald’s.

In conclusion this stop has been great. With week 3 coming to a close the 353 students can’t wait for the next class. Everyone is getting the message and every week there is more and more participation. We have 20 classes a week, running from Tuesday thru Saturday. This doesn’t include the people who are coming to the “Big Rig” to ask how to read labels, “Is this healthy?” one lady asked in broken English, knocking on the “Big Rig” door, holding a can of tomato sauce. She wasn’t even in a class.

Scott Bottemer & The “Big Rig” Team

Images © Ben Gibbs Photography