Every morning before the students arrive, the lunch staff begins their day at 5:30 to get the ovens running and set up breakfast for the students. After breakfast, they begin prepping and serving lunch, then they end their day by cleaning up the kitchen.
Along with making breakfast and lunch, the lunch staff has to do other, smaller jobs such as cutting vegetables for the salad bar, prepping a la carte items like yogurt parfaits or salads and washing dishes.
Head Chef Laura Coleman provides insight into how her staff members assist her throughout the long day.
“[My staff members] make it easy and fun,” Coleman said. “Everybody’s always offering to help others, and we pick each other up when we’re down. That’s what we do.”
Although the staff can support each other, the team still faces hardships. Mikki Bryant explains one of their primary struggles they face day-to-day.
“[We are] very short staffed,” Bryant said. “It’s hard when you’re short staffed and you’re trying to get everything through and done.”
The staff often lacks full members each day, and with only four lunch staff subs shared between the whole district, it makes it difficult to efficiently get work done. Despite this, student nutrition manager Michelle Kile thinks the staff works well together because they are so close-knit, which helps them overcome this obstacle.
“I will say that we are a very close group,” Kile said. “If they sucked, this job would suck. And they don’t suck. We have a lot going on in here at any given day, [but] we have each other’s back, [and] we’re like a little family. ”
A good team that understands each other can improve workflow and the overall mood of staff members. To increase their bond, the lunch staff does various activities outside of school, like getting dinner together or having holiday parties in the kitchen.
Coleman remembers when the lunch staff did a homecoming float together.
“We’ve been in the homecoming parade, [and it was] a way that we [could] all work together,” Coleman said. “A lot of creative thinking and brainstorming [went into it, and the float] showed a little bit of everybody’s personality.”
Bryant explains why the students and faculty members make her job at the school superior to other schools.
“I subbed, and I went to all different schools, and I chose this school because I loved it,” Bryant said. “I loved the people. I love the fast pace of it. It was just a great atmosphere.”
As a whole, the lunch staff likes working at the school because of its support and kindness.
“This building is nice, and the kids are awesome,” Kile said. “We love it here. I think the kids are great because they always say ‘Thank you’ or ‘Have a good day’ and they smile. I [also] think we’re part of their good day because it’s lunch.”
