A Lunch Lady with a Passion

By Cielo B. Kramer

Café Manager at South Fork Elementary School

I am a Lunch Lady with a passion! I share this position with thousands around the country serving our public-school cafeterias day in and day out.

We have a mission. We are not here just to work and earn. We are here in the service of the children, catering for their needs and passionately fulfilling our task and reach out to every child that will pass our way.

I have seen and heard great stories in my short time working as a Lunch Lady. I met Ms. Virginia, an 83-year-old lady who passionately prepares a la carte items and fruits and who serves as a cashier during service time.

This was her word:  “I am now working on my second retirement and it is my great pleasure to be in service of our children. In my eleven years of service at WS/FCS, I could only count with less than my ten fingers days I missed work.

“I hate missing work, I want to be there for the kids, it gives me the reason to be excited and be strong and look forward to a new day."

Here's another one, she is one of my trainers. During the past 2 years she struggled much juggling her work as a manager and taking care of her ailing mother and contemplated if it’s all worth it to stay working. In her 14 years of service, she said that there were tough days because of job and family-related issues but she always take refuge in focusing on the inspiration she gets from the children she serves day in and day out.

Many of the children who passed through her serving lines always remembered her name and, from time to time, they would come back to let her know how she made a difference in their lives. Actually one of them is now working with her. aspiring to be one like her.

I will not forget our electrician Gary. For more than 20 years, he's been serving our cafeterias. With great delight and pride, he always goes to work expecting to be of help to those who will need him. Gary is one happy electrician! He comes to our kitchen not only to do his assigned task but also to make us laugh and to encourage us to be like him, always happy to serve!

The reward is great when we see children excited about the food we prepare for them. Their smiles are priceless! I always imagine when handing a plate to a child of the great possibilities they can have in the future! I told my staff, “How about if some of these kids turn out to be great leaders of our beloved country? How about one of them could be the president or a famous scientist or mathematician or a Hollywood star maybe? Or, even if they just turned to be simple carpenters, plumbers, cooks and servers like us...don't you think every child deserves a good service?

I wonder if Lunch Ladies (and Lunch Gentlemen too!) and those who work in the cafeterias are remembered or even talked about in gatherings concerning the positive contributions they make in our school system. Maybe not. But, on behalf of my hard working staff and my co-Lunch Ladies, we hold our heads up high knowing that our love of serving matters and it will bring our community lasting, positive effects through the lives of the children we serve.

Our work is tedious and meticulous. Before I started with this job, I had a very poor perception and understanding on how our children were being fed at the school. As a parent of four children who go to public school, I was always concerned about whether they were being served well and had a special concern about the nutritional and sanitary aspects of the food.

Oftentimes, I hear from unhappy parents that food in the cafeteria is tasteless and not worthy of their pennies. I have seen this proven wrong upon entering some eleven kitchens during my training and while managing the cafeteria at South Fork Elementary.

Every cafeteria in WS/FCS holds a very high standard when it comes to serving our children. Every server, cashier, cook, manager, supervisors, technical person –

even our plumbers and electricians – undergo intense trainings and on-going education to learn their craft and uphold their individual roles in service of every child that comes through our serving lines the 180 days of the entire school year. Our supervisors and administrative staff are relentless in maintaining a very high standard in our daily operations. They make sure that each manager and every member of the kitchen staff is accountable to every task given or assigned to him or her.

As cooks and managers, we have to pass Serve Safe certification. Our kitchen is highly maintained especially, when it comes to sanitation and food preparation. Our recipes had been studied and further tested to ensure nutritional values. They are followed step-by-step to maintain quality both in taste and nutrition. Kitchen disciplines, reporting and accountabilities are being stressed. Food orders are regulated and reputable source for our food is highly monitored.

“We Love Serving You" and “In Service of the Children” are slogans of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Child Nutrition Department.