The Unsung Heroes of Schools
The Scoop about the D-T Kitchen Staff
By: Taylor McDole
Every member of school staff is important and integral to the success of a school, but one group that is often overlooked is the cafeteria personnel. At D-T, the cafeteria staff are the unsung heroes of the building as they work hard every day to make sure students have full bellies and are ready to learn. A well-loved member of the kitchen staff is Mrs. Patty Anderson, lead chef and co-manager of D-T’s cafeteria. Anderson loves her job and loves seeing the students enjoy the food she and her lunch staff serve.
“The best thing about the D-T lunch program is the staff. The way Patty Anderson and Mellissa Wright and the people that work down there in the cafeteria take care of kids is essential. They do a great job of providing kids with a lot of different food options,” said secondary teacher Mr. Jordan Conner
In the eyes of Anderson, working in the cafeteria is more than just a job. In her 8 years of working at D-T, she has found that her favorite part of the job is watching the kids enjoy the food she helps prepare. Anderson is devoted to making sure students have a healthy lunch and breakfast program so that they have the energy to learn and their stomachs aren’t empty. “My favorite thing about D-T is the kids,” Anderson said
Just like any job, Anderson faces daily challenges. A challenge that the lunch crew faces is making sure the food is ready on time and that there is enough of it for the students. Of course, she does not have to face this challenge alone, as she has the help of her fellow cafeteria staff members. Anderson described her lunch crew as “Awesome” and displayed that she really enjoys working with them.
When asked what her favorite meal to make for the kids is, Anderson said that she enjoys making Mummy Dogs each Halloween, but that she has many different things she likes to make.
The lunch crew also faces the challenge of making sure their food fits government regulations for health. The regulations include not using salt, being cautious of the spices that are used to season the food, and there has to be certain amounts of particular groups of food.
“It’s hard because we have to follow the guidelines of the government. I know the kids don’t like our macaroni and cheese because the macaroni is wheat,” said Anderson. “We also can’t have crispitos very often because they run high in one of our no-no’s.”
While it may feel like the vital work of the kitchen staff goes largely underappreciated, and a thank-you is long overdue, their hard work does not go unnoticed by students. Many students have expressed their love for the food that the lunch staff serves.
“Our favorite lunch is ranch chicken,” freshmen Zoe Yost and Clarie Schultz. “The lunch ladies work so hard to feed us every day.”