What's Cookin'

Wendy Gladbach - Cafeteria Manager:

As we come to the close of the first 8 weeks of school, I wanted to reach out to the parents of our St Joseph kids. When Mr. Allen asked me to finish the end of the school year last year, I thought okay it is just for a couple of weeks, I can do that easily. Then I got into the kitchen and had a great time cooking for your children. When Mr. Allen asked me back for this year I didn’t have to think too long and hard about it. This position is so much more satisfying than an office job could ever be, to watch the kids screw their face at some new dish and then clean their trays after actually tasting it is almost comical.

My staff and I are having so much fun cooking for your children, and yes, we are cooking almost every day. Anyone can take boxes out of the freezer and heat a meal for the children (I will admit we do this once or twice a week), but to take the time and cook from scratch is so satisfying for all of us. We are constantly coming up with new lunch ideas and are limited only by the number of hours in the morning and the space we have to cook in.

As we work up a sweat making homemade cookies, dinner rolls, and cinnamon rolls, we realize that this is for the kids. You can’t beat having a job you enjoy and a staff that is great to work with. I don’t think I ever had a job that I haven’t enjoyed the work, the working environment and my staff all at the same time, and I thank them every day for being flexible enough to work with me and your children. One that note, a lot of what we do couldn’t be done without the help of our volunteers, both the parents/grandparents and the kids that come down to help for the intermediate and Jr. high lunch periods. Having their assistance gives us more time to either get started on the dishes or in some cases start lunch for the next day (cinnamon rolls are a two day process). So I want to personally thank the volunteers we have had already this year.

One last note, I want to thank the parents and their patience with my food deliveries. I know there have been times during the day that it is difficult to get around due to a semi truck or milk truck parked in the front drive. Keep in mind that it is only for this year.

As I look out my kitchen window at the construction progressing more every day (it won’t be long before I will no longer have a view), I think about the possibilities for lunch options in the future and think “ just wait until next year”.