Film makers, indie or not. Let's think about the situation of Crafty in a modern day perspective. Crafty is called "Crafty" or "Craft Services" because originally it was contracted through Kraft Foods, or so I am told. Now, we all know Kraft. They make cheap garbage food that's really unhealthy, but it tastes good. Most people that work in film in Los Angeles are from places other than Los Angeles, and people's diets vary depending on where they are from. I have done a lot of traveling in my life, lots of road trips all over the states, and a lot of international travel as well. Most small towns along the freeway only have fast food joints, a greasy diner, and usually a chinese food place. Also, when you go to the grocery store, if you really pay attention to what you are buying, you will realize that most products (and produce) in America is actually unhealthy. The food industry uses words like "Natural" and "Whole Grain" to make you think that you are buying wholesome food, but in fact, if you knew what was really in there you would think twice about buying that product. Corn Syrup is in everything, as well as Preservatives, Pesticides, Hydrogenated Oils, Trans Fats, and Hormones! It's mind boggling to think that a "free market" has enabled companies to allow so many unnatural and harmful ingredients in our food. And if you go to a major supermarket chances are there is little to nothing available there that doesnt contain these things.
Basically, just about anything pre packaged, sweetened, suspiciously colorful, prepared or not in a natural state of being. Even much of our produce is genetically altered, and contains pesticides and/or wax to give it a shine. Our dairy and livestock usually are given hormones and who knows what else so for a number of reasons, which my guess is why people in other countries have less food allergies... because most other countries do not allow industry tampering to their food.
So what am I getting at? Well, here in Los Angeles, we have a lot of people that try to stay healthy, and a lot of them work in film and television. Can you imagine? People working in film and television want to stay healthy, or thin. Sounds like actors to me. But yes, also crew. I like to eat healthy too, but unfortunately I eat most of my meals on film and TV sets, and most of the time there are no healthy options. Chips, donuts, candy, granola bars full of corn syrup, food coloring and preservatives, no thank you. Usually the only "healthy" option is one of those vegetable trays with celery, baby carrots, and a tub of ranch. Well, I am thankful for the effort, but that gets old really quick. Im not a big fan of ranch, and those veggies taste like chemicals to me. Then what? Well, Im not in charge of crafty, so I dont know. I personally like hummus and freshly cut celery (not pre packaged), or maybe some organic peanut butter (I know it has a weird texture, but if you knew what they do to regular peanut butter to give it that consistency, you wouldnt eat it either!).
My point is, why should I be the odd man out just because I dont want to treat my body poorly? I work a hard job. 12 hours on set, day in and day out, plus usually about an hours of route either way. I need to keep my body in good shape and keep my energy up. Caffein and sugar are just going to make me feel bad once the initial rush is over and make me crash even harder.
The other part of this is that the food needs to be easy to eat on the go. It's fine to have some "table snacks" but we need things that we can just pop in our mouth and hop to the next take. I for example have a heavy bag around my neck that gives me limited mobility, and a boom pole in my hand, which gives me one hand to try to feed myself, so bananas are out of the question, and a whole apple is going to get my hand sticky, and I will more than likely have to set it down at some point to go back to work before I can finish it. Apple slices are nice though. But things that come in wrappers can not only prove a challenge for a guy like me on set, they can also cause problems. The sound of a plastic wrapper in headphones is not only one of the most irritating sounds you can imagine, but it can also be quite painful if it is loud enough. Those wrappers also find their way into peoples hands while we are trying to run a take, which of course will ruin the take. I have been known to approach the crafty table and throw all plastic-wrapped items in the trash when people start wandering onto set with those things in their hands and we are getting close to rolling, or while rolling for that matter. Honestly, I dont care who I have to piss off, I need good takes, and I dont want the producer barking at me when we hit post because crew members werent being respectful.
While we're talking about food on set, let's talk about meals. A crew expects at least one hot meal per shooting day, which is 12 hours at the maximum. If you go over by one minute, you are expected to provide a second. The meals should be hot, and again, healthy if possible. Indie film makers are always trying to make me eat garbage like Subway, which isnt hot or fresh (contrary to what they say), and Ive known a lot of people to get sick from them (myself included) due to their low quality ingredients. Other things people try to feed us are Stoffer's Lasagna because its cheap and can kinda feed more people, but it is again low quality ingredients, and most tomato sauces in the USA are sweetened with corn syrup, so I wont touche it. I like pizza, but I would rather not eat it on set because it is heavy, and I dont want to go into a food coma half way through the day. So get creative. Get catering or something from a good healthy place. Ive been on plenty of shoots where we had a local restaurant or independent caterer provide the catering, and it often works out to be about $5 per head, which is what you would pay if you cheaped out and got Subway. Some of the things we had were roasted or baked chicken, maybe in some delicious sauce, some prepared vegetables, salad, rice. You could even have a BBQ and not spend a lot if you know where to shop.
But do remember that a lot of people have dietary restrictions. A number of faiths do not allow the ingestion of pork or pig products, some people are vegetarian or vegan, or pescetarian. Others just simply dont like certain things, so if you are getting sandwiches, maybe only go with beef, turkey or chicken as the meat, have some vegetarian options, and dont have any sauces or extras already on them. I for one have three things that I cant stand, but unfortunately they are very common, so every sandwich or burger is a battle for me. I cant stand Mayonnaise, Mustard or Pickles. I just cant do it, Ive tried, I try all the time. But 80% of the time I will order a sandwich (or be provided with one), request no mayo or pickles, and it will be there regardless. Needless to say I get a little grumpy when this happens.
So please, start thinking healthy and learn a little bit about nutrition if you are in charge of feeding a hole cast and crew of people. And also be aware of the potential problems your choices may cause, such as noise or sticky hands, or maybe pollution :) Your cast and crew will be happier and healthier, and work harder, instead of feeling like poo by lunch time and just trying to get done with the day the rest of the time.
