Tomorrow (May 19), 800,000 people all over the world will come together to celebrate food, on Food Revolution Day.

Food Revolution Day is UK chef Jamie Oliver’s new campaign to stand up for real food, through better education about what we put on our plates. It’s all about inspiring and empowering people to learn how to cook healthy, affordable and tasty meals for their families, and ditch the unhealthy processed food (for at least a day!) that’s causing a worldwide obesity epidemic.

The revolution will not be processed

We couldn’t agree more! We all could do with learning more about where our food comes from and how it got to our plates. We live in a hectic, non-stop world of fast-food and convenience stores. Sometimes it feels like a lot of hard work to give food some thought.

That’s why we have to make real food fun. Buying and cooking fresh, locally sourced food doesn’t have to be a chore if you know where to find it, and can find inspiration in the method. So, this weekend, families and friends worldwide will get together in the name of food; to cook together in homes, gardens and villages, or attend one of thousands of live events, including outdoor cooking lessons, farmers’ market tours, farm visits and talks.

Get involved

Wherever you are in the world, there are two ways to get involved this weekend. You can either attend an official event near you (find your nearest event here), or host your own dinner party. Find some tips on throwing your own do here. In Brazil for example, we’re encouraging people to attend the official events in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia, or buy food from a farmers’ market to host their own dinner at home. If you’re in Brazil and thinking of taking part, you can share you photos on Oxfam Brazil’s Facebook page.

We want to rethink food completely. Where it comes from, why we’re eating it, how it got there and what went into making it. And that’s why we just have to get involved as well. Tonight, some of our GROW campaigners at HQ in Oxford will be holding a potluck dinner party with dishes from Iran, Italy, India and Ireland (alliteration not intentional!), to celebrate the multiculturalism of Oxfam and its staff. Look out for pictures on Twitter @oxfamgb tonight and on this blog next week.

If you’re plotting a Food Revolution this weekend, post your photos to the global GROW page on Facebook or tweet them at us and we’ll share them on the blog.

Are you ready to do something different at a gig? No we don’t mean crowd surf.  We mean talking to people about getting a fairer food system so people don’t go hungry.

Oxfam are looking for volunteers in Nice to help us spread the word about our new campaign GROW at a Coldplay concert.

The food system is broken. We have enough food on this planet to feed our population yet one in seven people go to bed hungry every day. The way we produce, consume and distribute food is wrong and means that people are going hungry needlessly. Oxfam wants to fix this, Coldplay wants to fix this too and have asked us to come on tour with them to create a global movement of Coldplay fans who are speaking out about the food system.

You just need to be willing to talk to Coldplay fans about Oxfam and encourage them to join the GROW campaign movement. We want people to use their voices with Oxfam and Coldplay to call for a fairer food system for everyone. You will work with a team of Oxfam volunteers at the gig and in return for your energy, you will get a free Coldplay ticket for the night, courtesy of Coldplay.

You will need to be free from 3pm on 22 May and you will be free to watch the Coldplay performance at 9pm.

All applicants must have a good knowledge of English and be energetic and passionate about Oxfam’s work to find solutions to hunger, poverty and injustice. You will receive training before the gig. To apply to volunteer email Rachel on raedwards@oxfam.org.uk, and provide details of why you are interested in volunteering, if you have experience of campaigning with an NGO and your contact details.

Applications should be in English and must be able speak fluent French to speak to Coldplay fans in Nice. Application deadline is  Thursday 17 May.

To read this in French please click here.

Okay so to start:

Top 5 things I did:

Met Chris Martin in LA

Went to the Butterfly Palace in Seattle

Went thrift shopping in Hollywood, I still can’t decide who wins, American vintage or Oxfam shops….I think it depends if my American friends or Oxfam boss are reading this.

Visited the biggest mall in the world in Edmonton, complete with a theme park, ice skating rink, cinema, restaurants, the list goes on.

Met volunteers who make wearing a banana suit cool!

Top 5 things I ate:

Piersy pie (cottage pie made by our Coldplay caterers)

Sticky cinnamon bun in Vancouver

Bubblegum doughnut from Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland

Official American burger from Johnny Rockets

Coldplay cookies (a soft cookie made by our very own Oxfam volunteer and huge Coldplay fan Heidi, stay tuned for the recipe).

Top 5 quotes:

“Have you met Princess Kate? Do you guys get to hang out?” Oxfam Volunteer, Calgary.

“When I started coming to the US, people didn’t know who Oxfam were. Now you guys are everywhere”, Coldplay security.

“I’ve been donating for years to various causes. But when volunteering with Oxfam I feel like Im taking a more active role and can actually see the results and help raise awareness rather than just money”. Dianne, Oxfam volunteer LA.

“Hey girls do you want to sign up to join Oxfam and I’ll dress as a corn for you?” Oxfam volunteer, LA

“Have you heard how many British are back stage? Are the band British?” Backstage helper.

5 most worn items:

My worn converse for the long walks around the venue.

My Oxfam t-shirt

Neon wristbands, for the gig

My blue hoody, for nights in the car parks waiting for the buses to load out and leave the venues

My trusty blue jeans, for running around the venues and jumping on my tour case to close it

5 most important things I learnt:

Chips are not a thing you have with a burger they are food you get in a bag (the English call them crisps)

Bigger is better, when talking about the size of a doughnut

Pop tarts aren’t a breakfast food! More for a sugar burst before you hit the gym. No wonder I wasn’t allowed them as a kid

People across the pond in Canada and America are amazing at talking, especially to strangers about changing the food system!

I must not speak in my North English accent and English slang when briefing volunteers, to ensure they don’t look at me in a confused way when I tell them to ‘take a pew’ (it means sit down)

So that’s it, my pit stop low down of the first leg of the Coldplay tour. I must say a huge thank you to Coldplay. Over 6500 people joined Oxfam in Canada and America over 11 dates and it’s thanks to Coldplay because they gave us the opportunity to speak to so many people at their gigs. I must also say thank you to all the Coldplay fans for joining us in our fight against hunger and poverty.

I really can’t wait for the European leg to start again so I can experience volunteering  in an European way, the gorgeous food of France and Spain and the Italian style. Note to self – I must pack my sunglasses. See you on the continent, Rachel.

There are obvious perks to being an Oxfam volunteer at a Coldplay gig. There’s getting to talk to people about something you feel passionate about, there’s the not-to-be-missed opportunity to prance about dressed up like fruit and veg, and of course there’s getting to see your favourite band for free.

But occasionally, just occasionally, you might even meet a rock star.

Before the gig at Hollywood Bowl on Friday, Chris Martin took a walk in the Hollywood sunshine to come and meet our LA volunteers. He thanked them for volunteering and ask them how the GROW campaign was going. They told him which songs they wanted to hear the band play.

Check out those grins!

Hollywood Bowl is a beautiful venue. An open air amphitheatre set within the lush green Hollywood hills. A little gem (well not really that little with 17,000 people present) set away from the chaotic wonders of Hollywood Boulevard. As I pulled in to start work for the day we passed the art deco Hollywood Bowl sign. I’m sure I had stepped back into the 50’s, I just needed a rara skirt and a milkshake.

Inside the Bowl is filled with retro posters from previous gigs. Coldplay were playing on the same stage as the Beatles, Nat King Cole and Elton John. I was so excited to see the Coldplay boys play this arena like so many famous people before them.

The atmosphere was a mixture of chilled out diners sat in the front stands having an evening dinner and wine, mixed with an electric buzz from the front rows and centre stalls. There was a festival vibe to this venue, with its outdoor bars and roasted food stands adding a camp fire smell to the mix.

Coldplay came on with a bang! Fireworks lit up the hillside stadium and confetti fluttered into the amphitheatre. The boys played out the ‘Hurts like Heaven’ intro and the crowd started jumping to the beat. Everyone’s arms were in the air and the wristbands were flashing to the rhythm. Everyone started screaming as Chris started to sing, ecstatic with the rush of the music and how good it feels to be part of a concert you have waited so long to see. I love it every time. But for some reason this gig tonight was special, I was mesmerised watching the crowd moving together with neon lights rushing through the open LA night. Hollywood Bowl had something special tonight! Congratulations Coldplay! The gig was amazing!

Pinterest

You can keep up-to-date with Rachel’s on-the-road adventures by checking out our pins on pinterest.com/oxfamontour.

Instagram

We’re on Instagram. Search for oxfamontour on your iPhone, or view pictures online – on web.stagram/n/oxfamontour.

Here are some of the best photos so far:

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Bob’s best

Bob Ferguson, who is in charge of artist liaison and music relations at Oxfam America, is travelling with the tour while it’s on the West Coast. He kindly sent us some of his best photos from Seattle and Portland:

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Coldplay’s wall of fans keeps on GROWing

Getting your face on the GROW wall of fans is easy! Just tweet #lovefoodhateinjustice to show your support for a better world food system and your face will become part of the huge mural of fans who think food injustice is rotten.

Find your face

Have you been at any of the US or Canada shows and had your picture taken by a volunteer? You can find all the photos so far on your local Oxfam’s Facebook page. Find your or your friends’ faces and add a funny caption; we’ll tweet the best ones.

Oxfam Canada: www.facebook.com/oxfamcanada

Oxfam America: www.facebook.com/oxfamamerica

As the stage hands continue the caterers and dressing room people are busy backstage creating lounge areas, warm up rooms for the bands, dressing rooms and crew rooms, complete with sofas, refreshment stands and desks, for the people like me and the VIP people to create a little office from.

At 9am, myself, VIPs and ‘the wristband boys’ (the lovely fellas who created the neon flashing wristbands for the Coldplay gig), arrive at the venue. The wristband people start activating the 16,000 wristbands on the concourse whilst I prepare the Oxfam stall and the VIP girls set up their stall and tickets.

We all break for lunch around 3pm before sound-check. By this point the stage is ready and everyone is set for the show, now we wait the bands. As the bands arrive, sound check starts and the familiar Coldplay songs start as the band warms up. At  6pm and the venue is now buzzing as the show is about to start and people start flooding in the doors.

By 7pm the first band comes on and the action begins, with camera crew, lighting, wristband boys on laptops and backliners (crew who make the guitars and drums work) restringing and tuning the band’s instruments. The crew are a hive of activity.

By 11.30 pm the show is finished, all the crew take a well-earned rest for 10 minutes and then start the ‘load out’; pulling all the stage down, repacking all the instruments and loading everything back on buses to drive to the next town. By 3am all the crew are back on their buses and enjoying a ‘load out’ snack before they climb into their bunks.

Then it’s farewell venue, until the next morning, when we wake at the next venue and it begins again. Touring is awesome!

We set off from Seattle at 3am after the huge trucks rolled out and everyone jumped on their bus. I spent a few hours sat with the other roadies as we discussed what we were going to do with our days off tomorrow. Being as their caterers we usually discuss food. Yum.

At 4am I crawled into my bunk for a cosy night’s sleep, being rocked to sleep by the twists of the road. I woke up at about 10am, grabbed a coffee from our machine and got comfortable on the seat next to the driver. Perfect position to watch the world go by. “We’re in California” said my driver, in his strong American accent, “yay, I’m from South Carolina”. He attempts to do an English accent and asks for a ‘spot of tea’. Amusing every time!

California is beautiful! Full of the brightest green hills and crystal blue lakes.  We had 4 hours left until we got to San Jose, so I hit the sofa with some tortillas and salsa and watched the TV show Friends.

We got to San Jose at 5pm, I dumped my bags in the hotel and went out on the search for some food. The San Pedro Markets were awesome. I grabbed some Thai, it was this or fish and chips, very hard decision! After my food I set out on a walk to capture San Jose in pictures, so you guys can feel the warmth that this Spanish-influenced city gave to me.

Enjoy my trip photos, from Seattle to San Jose, they are all yours.

Rachel x

I’ve spent the last two days replenishing my gig energy with the delights of Portland’s food. Portland, Oregon is everything I could want from an American city, with a punk scene, street art scattered everywhere, outdoor food joints and people singing with guitars on the street corners. It was like walking through a festival.

As I wandered through the city, I began to think of what an ideal place Portland is to talk to people about

the global food system. Food is in Portland’s blood, their Saturday food markets are incredible! There is food from Thailand, Italy, Mexico and El Salvador, to name a few. All being served up on a hot spring day.

As I sampled the delights of the markets, I start thinking about the people in the countries where the street vendor’s food came from, who were struggling to buy enough food for their families to eat.  Such as people in Tanuja Dhanuk, India, who can’t afford

flour and rice for their families. And there it was, the ideal way to talk to Portland people about the food system at gigs, talk to them about their food markets. They all love food, care about it and love the diversity of it; their food markets speak for themselves.

Portland doesn’t just have food markets; it is at the forefront of local food movements.  Every third Tuesday of each month Portland people meet at a ‘Local Food Breakfast’. The breakfast is a space for people to discuss local food movements, trends and farming activities. Its focus is to ensure the people know how to eat locally.

Portland also has a Slow Food movement: A cooperative that advocates for locally grown food and provides ways for people to source and be creative with their cooking. One amazing guide the Slow Food movement created was a ‘Real Time Farms´ guide. This guide tracks hundreds of products back to where they first started in the farms, to ensure people can determine exactly where their food came from. Such inspirational shopping really got me thinking about what I can do with my own food consumption to improve the food system.

Portland, you left me with some ‘food for thought’ and I know we left you with the same from all the people who signed up at the gig last night. From now on I will ensure that all the produce I can buy locally, I will. This is a simply step we can all take to change the food system.

If you are part of a local food movement in the world I’d love to hear from you. Tweet me @oxfamontour or leave a comment below.

Find out more about Slow Food Portland and follow them on Twitter @slowfoodpdx.

Look for Portland’s next Local Food Breakfast at Local Sprouts, on Facebook.

Ms Tomato AKA Juliette

This is a guest blog. Juliette, AKA Ms Tomato, volunteered with Oxfam at the Edmonton Coldplay show.

Being someone who thoroughly enjoys donating my time to good causes, I jumped at the opportunity to combine going to a Coldplay concert with garnishing support for a great cause. But what exactly was this organisation called Oxfam?

After some Googling, I discovered that Oxfam was right up my alley – I am a firm believer in equality, social sustainability and women’s rights. And i’m a true food lover!

But I lost my appetite completely when I discovered that one out of every seven people in the world goes hungry each day. While enough is food produced, it simply is not reaching some people, because the food system is broken. How can that be when I can order in at the touch of a button and take home a doggy bag after each meal?

Juliette's view of the show in Edmonton

Sitting behind my computer contemplating the unfairness of it all, I needed to vent my feelings and chose Facebook as the place to do it. Speaking to others about the food system sparked some interesting conversations. I could distinguish between two groups: people who had no idea about the injustices in the food issue and those that didn’t really understand the facts. I knew i’d made a good decision signing up to talk to people about why we need to change our eating habits for the better.

Volunteering at the concert in Edmonton, in my giant tomato outfit, I thought carefully about how best to approach the hordes of Coldplay fans. Since the band was the uniting factor, I thought casually dropping their name seemed like a good strategy! Here are some opening phrases I decided to use that had the most success:

“You must be a huge Coldplay fan; well did you know that Coldplay is a huge Oxfam fan?!”

“We’re touring with Coldplay and would like to tell you about Coldplay’s favorite charity: Oxfam!”

“If you give me two minutes of your time I’ll tell you how to get your picture on Oxfam’s Coldplay tour website!”

The phrases which actually had 100% success rate to pledge sign-up were: “Have you been approached by a vegetable yet?” and “You are probably wondering why I am dressed like a tomato, well let me tell you….” Coldplay’s name did not necessarily need to be mentioned for Edmontonians to show their support to the GROW campaign, though it certainly helped!

Some strategies proved more successful than others, and with Coldplay’s diverse fan groups we had to adjust our opening line depending on age, gender and group size. But what truly helped was my tomato costume. It drew the crowd’s attention and many people even approached me and asked if they could take a picture of the Apple, the Strawberry and the Tomato. So in retrospect, maybe I underestimated the genuine interest of Coldplay fans in this good cause!

Within just two hours we had over 60 new sign-ups. Although we were exhausted and had no voice left to sing along to our favorite Coldplay songs by the end of the night, it had been an extremely rewarding and satisfying night!

To find out more about volunteering in your country, contact your local Oxfam. More information here.