On a School Food Team, Everyone Brings Something to the Table
July 24, 2024
In any good recipe, every ingredient has a role to play. School food works the same way. I may be the menu planner here at Azusa Unified School District, but the meals we serve reflect the contributions of every person who works on the Nutrition Services team – we encourage our team members to share the recipes they like to eat at home.
At our district’s central kitchen, where we cook and prepare meals for our elementary schools; we make 4,000 lunches and 2,000 breakfasts every day. Add the middle and high school, and that’s probably another 2,700 meals daily. Cooking that many meals and making them all healthy and tasty enough to get kids to try them isn’t the kind of job one can do alone. You need skilled people in different positions who all bring unique expertise to the table.
You need a registered dietitian to do the nutrient analysis. You need a planner to develop new ideas and create the menus. You also need a supervisor to ensure the team has the right ingredients and equipment for the dishes they’ll cook that day. You need a chef who understands and loves food.
But that’s not all. You also need those home cooks who are passionate about cooking and supporting students. The cooks on our team have the skills, experience, and knowledge you need to make great meals, and they’re also parents who bring that home-cooking touch to the food that the kids love.
Our secretary is vital, too. Not only does she oversee what happens in the office, but she also provides input. I’ll share the menu with her and ask her, “Do you think your kids will eat this?” She’s a mother who lives in this community too, so she understands what our students like to eat.
Everybody on our team is essential to what we do. You can see our team’s contributions in every dish we put out to our students. On every tray, you can see the dietician’s healthy planning, the chef’s passion, the cooks’ homemade touches, and the secretary’s insights into what kids enjoy.
School food employees are some of the hardest-working employees in school districts. They start early in the morning, and it’s go, go, go from the moment they walk through the door. They have to make sure the meals are ready, at the right temperature, and that they look good. And no matter what, they must be ready to serve when the students arrive in the cafeteria.
The first meal is breakfast before the bell at 7 a.m., followed by second-chance breakfast at 9:30 or 9:45. By the time that’s done, they’re already making lunch. After they finish serving, they have probably about an hour to wash up, clean up, and complete their production records and paperwork, and then it’s time to go home.
Everyone on our team gives 110%. They work hard and are incredibly caring, which is why students come into the cafeteria every day.