A good plan without enough reach

From the start, British chef Jamie Oliver sought to create an extreme change in people's eating habits. Even the name of the show, "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution," reflects hope that by the end of the series, adults and children alike would be munching down on fresh veggies and doing away with French fries for good.

In the end, however, we see people following the same routine and remaining as unhealthful as ever. Three months after filming ended, Jamie Oliver and his crew took a trip back to Huntington to find that things had gone back to the way they were or people had just found a way around Oliver's work.

Chocolate and strawberry milk were put back into the schools. A day of feeding children fried or frozen food was created in "Processed Food Fridays" to keep up with the food orders that had been already made a year ahead of time.  Since Oliver's arrival, more children have been taking bag lunches and cafeteria food orders have dropped from75  to 66 percent, according to a West Virginia University study.

Part of the problem is that the processed foods and unhealthful lifestyles have been around for so long in the lives of Huntington residents and the rest of America that one show lasting a little over a month can't be enough to stop the trends.

Sometimes one person can make a difference. Greg Mortenson started a campaign to promote education for girls in rural areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan and has helped more than 58,000 children so far. He has met resistance from the Taliban, Muslims and fellow Americans, but he is willing to undergo investigations, threats and even bullets to continue his work.

The thing is he didn't stop; Mortenson started his work in the mid-90s and is still at it now.

If we ever hope to make an impact or change people's lives, we must be willing to invest the time. No matter how good Oliver's interests were, it was going to take way more than a one-series show to make a dent in a West Virginia town, let alone a whole country's eating habits.

The work and time you put into a project reflects how great that project is going to turn out. When dealing with people, who are the most complex creations on Earth, you've got yourself a lifetime's supply of work. However, after devoting all that effort, the results should be rewarding without question.