OXFORD, Miss. – “We’re going to have to shoot that scene
again,” said Theresa Stretch, food and nutrition specialist
for the National Food Service Management Institute at the
University of Mississippi.
“The cook and food service workers aren’t wearing aprons;
that’s an important part of their school uniform,” said
Stretch, scanning the six-member cast who were similarly
attired in khaki pants, dark shoes, blue T-shirts and
hairnets.
With nearly 100,000 schools, plus hundreds of food
establishments across America, being offered the use of
this video, “Health Inspections in Schools: Supporting Food
Safety Programs,” and other training resources provided by
NFSMI, Stretch understands the importance of getting it
right.
“In 2004, there was a mandate that all schools
participating in the federal school lunch program be
required to have two health inspections per school year,”
Stretch said. “This video is to help food service workers
understand what a health inspection is about, and to also
understand that the health inspector is not the enemy but a
useful resource.”
It wasn’t the first time a scene had to be redone during
the two days of filming this particular video. And,
although the scene in question was merely background
action, it was important that the seemingly insignificant
cafeteria scene was authentic.
No, Stretch is not a professional film producer, nor is she
aiming to be the next Steven Spielberg, but as a food and
nutrition expert at NFSMI, she understands the importance
of accurately portraying kitchen standards of health and
safety in this video, which will soon be available via the
Internet.
The video is intended to benefit such programs as the
federal school lunch program, which provides safe and
healthy meals to children of all ages. Nearly every public
school in America participates in the program, which is run
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Half the nation’s 60
million students eat lunches prepared in school, according
to the department’s Web site.
“The video will help anyone working in food service
understand what food inspectors look for during site
visits,” said Amy Casteel, NFSMI lead school meals
specialist. “The video is essentially a training video that
supports food safety programs.”
Because the 15-minute film features “recommended tools for
best practices” such as cooling foods rapidly and recording
temperatures during food preparation, Stretch and Jeannie
Sneed, both certified food safety professionals, oversaw
every aspect of the filming.
Cast member Marybess Pritchett, an Ole Miss BFA in acting
major from Corinth, said Stretch obviously understands her
field. Recounting the takes and retakes of the hand washing
scene, Pritchett said, “Who knew there were hand washing
sinks, food prep sinks and dish washing sinks. They made
sure we used the correct sinks for cooking and cleaning.
And Stretch instructed us on proper hand washing
techniques. I have renewed respect for school food service
workers and for film acting.”
After the intense filming, including hundreds of takes and
retakes, and dry nails from washing and rewashing her
hands, Pritchett said her first stint in this type of
filming was tough.
“I am primarily a stage actor, although I have had some
experience with film. I feel like stage acting and film
acting require the same amount of dedication and
imagination, but in film, a scene can be shot multiple
times with a variety of moods and intensions,” said
Pritchett, 21, who has appeared in stage performances of
“Les Liasons Dangereuses,” “Romeo and Juliet” and
“Lysistrata.”
Matthew Graves, producer and director for UM’s Center for
Media and Documentary Production, directed the filming. He
said he “definitely expected the shooting to be grueling.”
“It’s a very time-consuming process, and I was actually a
little amazed at how quickly we finished; two days with 20
scenes and at least two set-ups per scene is a hefty
order,” Graves said. “This is my first video project for
NFSMI, and I think we were lucky to have experts readily
available.”
While this project was to produce a learning video, Graves
said he hopes that “it comes across as informative but
somewhat entertaining.”
Stretch said she expects the video to be popular because of
its important content.
“Food inspections are important in any food service
operation,” Stretch said. “The video simply emphasizes key
points for the inspection as well as recommends best safety
practices that will help ensure the safety of children.”
The video is slated for Web-based release in early 2008.
For more information on the National Food Service
Management Institute visit