Hard At Work, Serving You Food!

March 23, 2009  
Filed under Random

     Stop and think for a moment; when you think of the word “lunch lady’ what image comes to mind? A cruel, poorly dressed, malodorous woman cackling as she drops a heap of something-not-quite-edible onto your tray? A masculine woman lacking personality who mindlessly serves you food? While modern day society has created this image of the typical “lunch lady”, none of it is true. To prove this, we set out with high intentions of finding out what it really takes to be a “lunch lady”.

 

      Upon our arrival at the cafeteria, all of the lunch ladies were hard at work. Scrubbing trays, preserving food, counting left over items, and even (can you believe it?) paperwork. Fortunately, we managed to pull Ms. Joann—the manager of the kitchen—aside for a few questions. 

 

Reporter: “What time do you arrive at work?”

 

Ms. Joann: “Two of us get here at 6:30 in the morning to begin serving breakfast. The rest of us come in at 7:00.”

 

Reporter: “How long does it take to prepare meals for the day?”

 

Ms. Joann: “We have about four hours to prepare lunch for over 700 students.”

 

Reporter: “What is a typical good day like in the kitchen? What is an unusual day like?”

 

Ms. Joann: “A typical day in the kitchen is when everyone does their job and everything goes well. An unusual day is when everything goes wrong, or when students leave the commons area in a really bad mess.”

 

Reporter: “Who is in charge of what?”

 

Ms. Joann: “I’m the manager, which means I’m in charge of the kitchen, grocery orders, and paperwork. Lynn is the assistant manager, and she helps me with the paper work too. Koni is the main line cook. Gayle is the sandwich/pizza maker; she also helps clean and counts items. Vicky is the bread maker, handles the cold sandwich line, and is also a dishwasher. And finally, Becky is the salad and fruit maker.”

 

Reporter: “Where do you get all the food from? And does the school personally have to pay for it?”

 

Ms. Joann: “We get our food from the U.S Food Service, and no, the school does not pay for it. We receive government help to pay for the food.”

 

Reporter: “Do you enjoy what you do? Why?”

 

Ms. Joann: “Yes I enjoy what I do, I love to cook!”

 

     After the interview with Ms. Joann, we continued to interview the other cafeteria staff asking them if they enjoyed what they did, and what their job description was exactly. They all replied happily that they did enjoy their jobs, and that they enjoyed most being at Aynor High School.

 

     The next time you receive a meal from a lunch lady, be sure to smile and thank her. It takes effort, perseverance, and extreme amounts of patience to do what these terrific ladies do every day. They maintain a cafeteria, feed over 700 mouths, and have to continuously be creative to plan meals. These ladies make serving lunch look easy, and delicious, at that!

 Ashley Chaffin

Brandi Harrelson

Aimee Fowler