The Great Cafeteria Takeover 1

THE GREAT CAFETERIA TAKEOVER – 1

ForImmediateReleaseApril 16, 2012

THEWEIGHTOFTHENATIONFORKIDS:THEGREATCAFETERIATAKEOVER,

FIRSTINATHREE-PARTSERIESFORFAMILIES,

DEBUTSMAY16,EXCLUSIVELYONHBO

According to a survey published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2009, roughly94% ofschoolsservedalunchthatfailedtomeetfederalstandardsforhealthyschoolmeals,and80% ofthelunchesservedinthoseschoolsexceededfederalrecommendationsfortotalfatandsaturatedfat.

Armedwiththesestartlingfacts,agroupofNewOrleanskids–whodubbedthemselvestheRethinkers–setouttomakeadifferenceintheircommunityduringthepost-Katrinarebuildingperiod. THEGREATCAFETERIATAKEOVERshowshowtheytransformedtheirschoollunchmenuwhenitdebutsWEDNESDAY,MAY16(7:00-7:30p.m.ET/PT),exclusivelyonHBO.

OtherHBOplaydates: May19(2:15p.m.ET/1:45p.m.PT),21(3:15p.m.),24(9:00a.m.),27(11:00a.m.)and30(2:35p.m.)

HBO2playdates: May25(6:00a.m.)and29(noon)

THEGREATCAFETERIATAKEOVERisthefirstfilminthethree-partseriesTHE WEIGHT OF THE NATION FOR KIDS,whichisacompaniontothefour-part,multi-platformdocumentaryseriesTHEWEIGHTOFTHENATION,spotlightingthefactsandmythsaboutAmerica’sobesityepidemic. THEWEIGHTOFTHENATIONisapresentationofHBOandtheInstituteofMedicine(IOM),inassociationwiththeCentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention(CDC)andtheNationalInstitutesofHealth(NIH),andinpartnershipwiththeMichaelandSusanDellFoundationandKaiserPermanente. AllthreefilmsinTHEWEIGHTOFTHENATIONFORKIDSwillairduringback-to-schoolseasonthisfall.

Intheircampaigntochangeschoollunchmenus,theRethinkerssurveyedstudentsatschoolsintheircommunityandissuedannualreportcardstoattractmediacoverageandcapturetheattentionofdecision-makers.TheRethinkersmetwithschoolofficialsandcorporateexecutivesfromAramark,oneofthenation’slargestfoodserviceproviders,togetthemthinkingaboutthequalityofschoolmealsandhowtheycouldbeimproved.

Usingthereportcardsandsurveyresults,thekidsnegotiatedwithAramarktoprovidehealthierfoodchoices.Whenageneralagreementtoprovidemorelocal,healthyfooddidnotresultinchange,thekidsheldtheschoolofficials’andthecompany’sfeettothefireandfinallyarrivedataspecificagreementtoservefresh,locallyproducedfoodatleasttwotimesaweek.

Amongtheyoungpeoplefeaturedinthefilmare:

LucyTucker–Apassionatestudentwhoisdedicatedtopresentingadultdecision-makerswithstudentsurveydatathat theycanusetoprovidehealthierfoodoptions.

VictoriaCarter–AstudentwhocaresdeeplyaboutthegoalsoftheRethinkersandwantsadultstolistenandact.

RonTriggs–AyoungerstudentwhoispleasedtodelivertheresultsofthereportcardataRethinkers’pressconferencehighlightingeachschool’s“grade.”

“Thirty-threepercentofpeoplewithintheStateofLouisianaareobese,”saysJohannaGilligan,anadultadvisortotheRethinkers.“Peoplearefinallyrealizingthattheyhavenoideawheretheirfoodhascomefrom,theyhavenoideawhat’shappenedtoitbeforeitgottothem.”

“We,asRethinkers,knowthatadultswilllistentousifwehavegreatideasandsolutions,insteadofjustcomplaining,”saysCarter.

“Weareveryexcitedaboutournewagreement,”addsRethinkerJadaCooper.“Wehopeastheyearsgoon,schoolfoodwillcontinuetoimprove,andthateverychildinNewOrleanswillhaveahealthyschoollunchwithfreshlocalfood,schoolgardensandfoodeducation.”

Threeyearsinthemaking,THEWEIGHTOFTHENATIONoffersanunflinchinglookattheseverityoftheobesitycrisis,highlightingthegroundworkforthesocietaltransformationsthatmusttakeplaceinordertoslow,arrestandeventuallyreversetheprevalenceofobesityandbringthenationtoahealthierweight.Itisoneofthemostfar-reachingpublichealthcampaignsonthisepidemictodate.Themulti-part,multi-platformseriescomprisesfourdocumentaryfilms,athree-partseriesforfamilies,12bonusshorts,arobustwebsiteandsocialmediacampaign,abookpublishedbySt.Martin’sPressandthefreedistributionofDVDsandcomprehensivediscussionguidestomorethan40,000community-basedorganizationsworkingtofightobesityaroundthecountry.Toreachthebroadestpossibleaudience,HBOwilluseallofitsservices,includingthemainHBOchannel,multiplexchannels,HBOOnDemand,HBOGOandmore.AllfilmswillbeavailableinEnglishandSpanish,andwillalsostreamfreeofchargeonHBO.com,aswellasonmultipleplatformsbyparticipatingTVserviceproviders.

FormoreinformationonTHEWEIGHTOFTHENATIONandthescreeningkits,pleasevisithbo.com/theweightofthenation.

Officialsite:hbo.com/theweightofthenation

Facebookpage:facebook.com/theweightofthenation

Twitterprofileandhashtag:twitter.com/weightofthentn#weightofthenation

Promotionalcontent:youtube.com/hbodocs

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