"Huntington West Virginia" news and stories

Parting is such sweet sorrow -- as in, refined, artificially colored, high-fructose sorrow. Now that Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution has reached the end of its special six-episode run on ABC, it's time to reflect upon what we've learned. So in the spirit of the show, here's a few CliffsNotes from Jamie's eating-revolution lesson plan.

Lesson 1: You can keep the kids away from the strawberry-flavored milk, but you can't keep the strawberry-flavored milk away from the kids.

In this last installment, Jamie's been away from the high-obesity burgh of Huntington, W.Va. for about three months, long enough for him to promote his cause on a zillion talk shows, and long enough for those pesky prefab junk-food suppliers to weasel their products back into cafeterias.

Read more of our take on the season finale of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution after the jump...

When Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution first premiered, it was gross. Then it was sensitive. This week, the show was, well, staged more than anything -- but luckily, with a couple of detours back into the gross and sensitive stuff to keep it from totally running off the rails.

In his struggle to get the city of Huntington, W.Va., to eat better, Jamie's archnemesis -- at least as the producers have edited it -- has been morning DJ Rod, a "crusty old git" (in Jamie's words) who just doesn't think a fancy-pants Brit can successfully persuade grease-loving Americans to change their artery-clogging ways.

On that, he may have a point. But more suspiciously, Rod doesn't seem to think a little habit-changing is even necessary; eating fries and pizza all week is pretty much our God-given right. Cue the footage of Rod wolfing down a drippy submarine sandwich after his weekly on-air tete-a-tete with Jamie.

And out come the tears! Fun as it's been to see Jamie Oliver "get into a scrap" with school officials, radio hosts, family pets and just about any living thing he encounters in his quest to change the eating habits of one not-so-small town, this week, he found a demographic a little more his speed -- and his show was all the better for it.

Yes, in a sea of apathetic Americans, Jamie has found unlikely allies in perhaps our most disaffected age group: teens! There was something funny -- and maybe more than a little satisfying -- about watching him march around a high school cafeteria in a bomber jacket and trucker cap, squawking, "I need ambassadors of change to carry on my mantra!"