Lunch is a pivotal part of all students’ days. Athletes need to eat to gain energy for after-school practice, students in academic activities need the nutrients to focus, and teachers need to take a break from their students. Despite this, it is easy to take access to school lunch for granted without thinking about who makes and serves it. The women in the lunchroom work to make sure students are fed healthy, nutritious food that can enable them to carry out their day-to-day tasks.
More often than not, serving lunch can be a difficult job. Kari Streeter, the head of the kitchen staff, describes a typical morning for her and the rest of the group.
“We start arriving at work at 6 a.m. and start preparing for the day’s service,” Streeter said. “We have to make sure everything is ready by 10 a.m. when we sit down for lunch.”
Although the labor may be intensive and the time may be strenuous, it all comes together to create a positive result. Streeter shares the most rewarding part of her job.
“Knowing that we have given the students a well-balanced meal and hearing the students [get] excited when lunch [served] is something they love,” Streeter said.
Students being appreciative of the hard work put into preparing the food is exciting for the lunch ladies, but other issues arise when certain parts of the day get out of routine. Streeter gives an insight into what happens when a piece of the puzzle is missing.
“If any of the team calls into work [sick], then the rest of the team have to work harder and faster to do that person’s duties,” Streeter said.
An even bigger obstacle can occur with issues regarding the food itself. It can be demanding to do several tasks at once when getting the food out on time, especially if things are not going according to plan. Streeter elaborates on these troubles.
“Another challenge is when our food distributor does not have what we are needing in stock. When this happens, we have to change the menu,” Streeter said.
Although this may be frustrating, students at DHS are thankful for the food provided by the lunchroom staff. Sophomore Sloan Carpenter, a member of the girl’s basketball team and the track team, explains how she benefits from the food as an athlete.
“It provides a lot of nutrition with the veggie portions and the dairy with fruit and also every other grain that’s needed with protein,” Carpenter said.
Even students who do not participate in athletics are grateful for what the lunch ladies work hard to provide every day. Sophomore Addison Easter, a participant in theater and Scholars Bowl, shares her input.
“I appreciate the school lunch ladies because they always make sure we have enough food,” Easter said. “They just always are so on top of it….”
Students and faculty all around DHS need nutritious food to make it through their days, and the lunchroom staff recognizes that as a duty that should not be taken lightly. Although people may not see what happens behind the scenes, the lunch ladies’ perseverance and dedication to their jobs always go above and beyond.
