The Jamie Oliver Food Foundation Is Partnering With The California Endowment To Educate And Improve Health With A "Big Rig Teaching Kitchen" Tour

Oliver's continued project kicks off in California, bringing food education, nutritious cooking skills, and "real food" dishes to local communities.

News provided by

The California Endowment

Sep 03, 2013, 12:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Be a part of the Jamie Oliver food movement! The real food revolution will continue in California with amazing free cooking classes and outstanding culinary events. Get on board to learn delicious culinary moves and become a role model for your friends, family, and community.

With a mission to improve health and spread food education, The Jamie Oliver Food Foundation (JOFF) has partnered with The California Endowment to bring free classes and food education aboard the famed "Big Rig Mobile Kitchen Classroom" to underserved communities from San Diego to Sacramento.

The Big Rig tour will inspire local cooks of all ages to eat well through free teacher training, basic home cooking classes, and take-home recipes which will be given aboard the food truck, which was famously featured on ABC's Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. The Big Rig is open to all ages and is part of a long term initiative to reduce childhood obesity rates.

In 2011 following his TED prize win and Emmy award for his hit TV series Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, Oliver launched the Big Rig Mobile Kitchen Classroom. The Big Rig has since gone on to teach over 1,000 people to cook in the greater Los Angeles area and participated in Food Revolution Day each year.

"We are so excited to have the Food Revolution Big Rig Kitchen Classroom back on the road again. With our amazing partners at the California Endowment, we are visiting fantastic events throughout the state, opening up the Big Rig for classes for the public, and on the tour, we are training local people to be Food Champions, which means there will be a legacy of training left within each community!" said Jamie Oliver. "So come out and see us at our events, sign up for free cooking classes, or-even better still-sign up for free to become a local food champion and be a force for good within your community."

Kicking off its 40-week sunshine state tour, the Big Rig will make stops in Merced, Fresno, Kern County, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Sacramento Counties. At each stop, the Big Rig will offer food education courses led by community chefs and ambassadors who will continue to be Food Champions after the truck departs.

The Big Rig will also make appearances at local fairs and festivals to give live cooking demos and free screenings for enrollment in benefits from the Affordable Care Act.

Sept 6-8:	Madera Country Fair (Merced)
Sept 13-15:	Los Angeles County Fair
Sept 20-22:	Kern County Fair (Bakersfield)
Oct 10-13:	Big Fresno Fair
Oct 17-Nov 8:	Fresno Learning to Cook classes
Nov 21-23:	Bakersfield Learning to Cook classes
Dec 3-21:	Bakersfield Learning to Cook classes
Jan 17-Feb 6:	Sacramento Learning to Cook classes
Feb 20-Mar 12:	Merced Learning to Cook classes
Mar 26-Apr 16:	Los Angeles Learning to Cook classes
Apr 29- May 20:	San Diego Learning to Cook classes

The tour will also be making stops at events in Sacramento, San Diego, and Fresno.

Through the partnership with The California Endowment, the JOFF Big Rig will be providing basic health care coverage screenings to educate and encourage Californians to enroll in affordable, quality health care. By visiting the truck, people will be able to find out what Obamacare means for them and their family.

"At The California Endowment, we know that health does not just happen at the doctor's office, but all around us, including in the kitchen," said Kathlyn Mead, EVP and COO of The California Endowment. "Through this project with the Jaime Oliver Food Foundation, we are looking to promote affordable and nutritious food and beverage choices. Additionally, we expect to deliver educational opportunities and resources to allow residents across California to live healthier lives."

The JOFF teaching kitchen partnership is part of The California Endowment's Health Happens Here initiative and state-wide Building Healthy Communities strategy to support communities in their goal to create places where children and their families are healthy, safe, and ready to learn.

About Jamie Oliver Food Foundation

To learn more about the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation, visit www.jamieoliverfoodfoundation.org.

About The California Endowment

For more information, visit The Endowment's Web site at www.calendow.org.

SOURCE The California Endowment