A day in the life of a cafeteria worker is much more complicated than most students think. Their days are long and difficult, yet their main concern is providing nutritious meals for students and employees.

This week is National School Lunch week, a time set aside to showing appreciation for Nutrition Services employees. To better appreciate what these men and women go through each day, it’s essential to look at what their job entails.

“We have to arrive everyday at around 5:30 – 6 a.m.,” Head of Cafeteria Staff Kathy Bell said. “Breakfast usually takes an hour to an hour and a half to prepare. After breakfast cleanup, we start preparing lunch at 8:30 with salad and entree prep. There is a lot of chopping to do.”

Each meal needs preparation, cooking and clean up time. Employees have to make sure their time management is good to be ready for the arrival of students.

“Trying to be on time for meals, but not too early, can be challenging,” Bell said. “Crunch time is right before lunch, because we try to make our food fresh.”

All meals start off with natural ingredients, and are prepared to ensure the food doesn’t sit out too long. After the meals are served, employees clean up and perform other job requirements to prepare for the next day.

“I end up staying until around 4:30-5 everyday because of cleanup and paperwork,” Bell said. “For me, it’s lots of government required paperwork about the food we prepared, how much was used, what was left over, etc.”

Bell also has to consider nutritional guidelines when preparing each menu. Recipes are sent in from dietitians and food management services, and she has to follow specific requirements to ensure students get required nutrients from each meal.

“Students need nutrition to be able to focus, graduate and be successful,” Bell said. “Providing these things for them can be rewarding, but my favorite part of the job is seeing kids smile after a hard day. I also enjoy making them laugh and giving them their favorite meal.”