One Reason I Love My Job

Well despite the fact that today was insane, I still had a great time. I love the last week of school, and not just because half the classes don't come to lunch everyday! I love the parties, luaus, honors programs, etc. I have been so stressed with collecting charges and figuring out refunds for the last four weeks, but I don't want to forget about all of the things I love.
I love the annual 5th grade luau. The parents really did a great job this year. We baked 200 chocolate chip cookies to help out the dessert table and to take advantage of the invitation to eat :). Parents were everywhere I looked this morning as they hustled trying to get everything together. I just smiled to myself as I thought about my employees who hustle everyday to feed over 600 children. It seems like every time I turned around they needed something. I was being pulled in a dozen different directions. And then this afternoon one of the parents stopped by my office to thank me for all of the help. She said they couldn't have pulled it off without us and she was very grateful. And then she went on to thank me for taking care of her child for the last three years I've been the nutrition manager at the school. Say what you will, but having someone recognize your every day actions really feels good.
I use to have a Negative Nelly working for me (and oh what a celebration when she left) and she use to complain that she didn't need anyone to say thank you or give her praise because she was just doing her job (and if they really wanted to thank her they'd give her something tangible). Well I beg to differ. When I receive a compliment on a new item, I always let the person know who was responsible for the dish and I pass along the compliment to the chef. But at the same time I am beaming with pride because I know that delicious meal was prepared in my kitchen, by my staff.

The Uninformed

Want to know what gets my goat??? Uninformed posters who have an opinion about something they know nothing about! Below is an article from the Sarcasm Society Blog. After that you'll read a post by someone who obviously doesn't know squat about school nutrition. And then you'll see my reply.

Sarcasm Society Blog: The Agricultural Department cares for your children, and that is why it announced today that the government will require higher standards for ground beef used in schools starting this July. The meat will be tested for contamination more often and the new rules will no longer allow certain ‘trimmings’ from making their way into the ground beef.

USDA, which oversees the school lunch program and coordinates food purchases with schools, will also prohibit the purchase of beef produced on the same day that E. coli O157 or salmonella is found through testing at a plant. (AP)

Your government is always there for you, and not it’s making your kids eat ‘safer’ ground beef. Now only if they would let us know what they meant by ‘beef’.

Respondent Online: I feel like school fake beef is less apt to make kids immediately sick than normal beef (due to all the non-beef fillers, preservatives, hormones, etc). There is less chance of food poisoning, spoilage, or undercooking.

But in the long term, continued use of fake school beef might cause more health problems due to the lack of nutrition, excess preservatives, etc. You might not see the health problems until years later.


My reply:

To MaryBeth...what school system do you live in??? I'm a nutrition manager at an elementary school and we've never used "fake beef", we use 100% beef. Ours is even lean beef. We prepare our items from scratch including homemade rotini and meat sauce, beef tacos, shepherd's pie, etc. As well as many homemade chicken dishes, fresh fruits and ... See Morevegetables, homemade rolls and desserts. Comments like that are what starts stereotypes of school food, but I guarantee you the items we serve our students are more healthy and fresh than the drivethru dinners most parents are feeding their kids these days.

Lunchroom Nazi

As the year comes to a close I am forced to start collecting charges and withholding trays from students who owe money. All I can say about this is WTF people? Pay your kid's stinking bill! You have enough money to go shopping, live in ridiculously large houses, and drive the newest vehicle available but you can't pay the twenty something dollars you owe on your child's meal account! These are the very same parents who send me letters dripping with disdain because I have to offer their child a PBJ and milk instead of a tray. And they tell me it's not their child's responsibility to keep up with the meal account...well, duh! It's your job! I send home notices every day and even if I didn't, if you haven't sent money in more than a month it might be time to check the darn account! Don't make me the bad "lunchlady."