“French fries are practically salads — which is why I like mine with ranch.”
That’s funnyman Nick Offerman of Parks and Recreation fame playing a “food expert” in the latest from Funny or Die. The quick video is a deliciously (ok, pun intended) dry take on the importance of healthy lunches in schools, even flashing sponsorship at the end from the American Heart and Stroke Associations.
In the clip, Mr. Offerman plays a rancher who takes us on a tour of his beautiful farm, which has the look and feel of today’s best organic landscapes, but actually “grows” products you’re more likely to see in school lunches today, i.e. french fries, fish sticks, and of course, fresh pepperoni pizza right off the vine.
It’s a great take on an issue that has long plagued government food programs, which all too often provide our nation’s students a short supply of fresh fruits and vegetables in favor of easily made (and much more popular) junk food, loaded with all the nitrates, preservatives, and carcinogens that growing bodies (don’t) need.
“We are hard at work, growing the ripe, juicy pizzas that your kids love,” says Offerman’s character Daniel Frances. “What could be healthier than this? Acres of pizza kissed by the sun, stretching as far as the eye can see,” he quips.
“You see, kids know what their body needs,” Offerman continues, offering a young girl some fresh picked bounty from a “taquito tree.”
The video is a rare find from Funny or Die, offering an actual message, albeit with plenty of comedy rolled into the package. With Offerman at the helm, his comedic senses in full force, the pizza farm offers a refreshing take on a serious health issue, hitting at the core of the problem without getting all preachy.
Then again, the video also stokes a mean craving for a fresh-picked slice of pepperoni, and some farm fresh cola right out of the hose to wash it down. Is it just us, or is it lunch time up in here?
