Feeding 600 students a day is a daunting task, but every day the child nutritionists are prepared.
EHS cafeteria staff work constantly to make sure requirements are met before the first lunch bell rings at 10:49am.
While the day-to-day may just seem like another task, there are innumerable challenges the staff face in order to get students through the lunch line and fed in a span of half an hour. Just across the counter, the staff is prepping, and organizing to complete the job.
Although it is not an every day thought, the behind the scenes of the cafeteria can be more tedious than what meets the eye. The routine is simple, but if not followed, can lead to a debacle. Typically, they do the same regimen daily in order to get the job done in a timely manner.
“We try to prepare as much as we can, and it can change based on the staffing and menu,” staff member John Farmer said.
Presumably, the most prepwork comes with the more complex menu items, such as Mandarin Chicken or Nachos. The stress of actually preparing the food only adds onto the pressure of getting all of the kids through the lunch line.
As if it isn’t stressful enough, cashiers at the lunch counters not only have the stressful task of getting kids through the line, but they also have to make sure nobody is stealing food.
“It’s only stressful when I can’t see what the kids have, and there are certain kids who tend to steal and I can’t always catch them,” lunch staff Amanda Diercks said.
In order to manage that stress, the staff recommends making time for yourself.
“Make sure you take breaks when you need it,” Child Nutrition member Amanda Gross said.
The lunch staff also expressed how they feel about the food that they serve, and what they would like to change or add to it, and the flexibility of their work schedules.
“The flexibility is the most rewarding part of the job, and I enjoy it because it gives me more time to spend with my kids,” Farmer said.
The staff also added that they think there should be more homemade items and more preferable foods. They also inquired about the accessibility of the less nutritional foods, compared to the more nutritional ones.
“I would try to incorporate more home recipes from scratch,” Diercks said. “And more foods that kids will actually want, since nobody wants to eat pizza every day.”
Even though healthy options are offered in the lunch line due to the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, put in place by former First Lady Michelle Obama, students do not take advantage of the healthy foods provided to them.
“Nutrition starts at home,” Farmer said. “We have healthier options, but nobody chooses those options since they aren’t nachos or pizza, but who’s to blame? It’s all about how you eat at home.”
There have been several changes to the lunch program over the years, especially to the production and daily practices in the kitchen, and these additional modifications make all the difference.
“Tracy is a lady who works in corporate, and she’s come in and taught us how to be more productive,” Farmer said. “It’s just the little things that make it that much better.”
The job also comes with an abundance of humor and laughs throughout the day. From behind-the-door jump scares, to a comical amount of food purchased by students, there is always something to share a smile about.
“There was this kid who came through and got six slices of pizza,” Farmer said. “At that point, just have your mom order a whole pizza for you, since it’s already the same price.”
