The hair net, the orthopedic shoes and that laced collar and iconic cat eye glasses describe the real unsung heroes of the school cafeteria back in the day (and maybe still today). It’s the lunch ladies. The hard working early morning starting cooks that served the perfect shape of mashed potatoes and that square pizza on Fridays.

Our lunch ladies at Goodyear Elementary School always kept the kids in line and the line moving like a well choreographed dance. Even the teachers wanted to know how they did it. Whether you wanted to peas or not you got them and fought back the urge to say “no thank you”. They had no time to waste. They had a lot of kids to feed, a kitchen to clean and orders to be placed before the end of the day so that they could do it all over again the next day.

Growing up experiencing food insecurity is rough. Sitting next to a friend with a fresh sandwich, a bag of chips and cookies their mom made was hard to watch. You try to act like it’s no big deal. You weren’t hungry anyway was the only way to fight back the tears. Some days you had that bologna and cheese sandwich and once you pulled the bologna out, it didn’t look so bad. But smelling the fresh turkey and cheese sandwich next to you made your stomach tighten. Sometimes you sat next to someone that was kind enough to offer you a cookie or some chips but it wasn’t often. It felt good to be offered and feel grateful.

By the time fifth grade came around, you could sign up to volunteer in the kitchen and work with the lunch ladies if you dared. They didn’t scare me. Probably because I never got to stand in that line. Students feared them because they didn’t have time for games and let you know. They were pretty bad ass actually. They needed the help and it was a great learning opportunity for anyone that had the guts to sign up. The only thing was you could only do it once a week but once a week meant a free lunch and that was the best part…I thought. Everyone wanted Friday because it was pizza day. I didn’t care and took whatever they gave me.

I remember my first day, they brought me over to the dish machine to rinse off the stacked dishes and trays. I was too young to operate that huge machine but I could fill the dish racks and rinse all of the dishes. I remember looking at that dish machine and thinking we could use this at home with 10 people living there. The spray hose was the best part of that job. It rinsed dished off like magic.

As time went on, I showed an interest in the food prep by being really nosey. Little by little they would give me small job like lining cookies on cookie sheets or putting cheese on the cheeseburgers. Quickly I became quite the prep assistant and the cranky lunch lady became my friend. Want to know how I knew? She signed me up for Fridays so that I could have pizza. Not only did I have the pizza but I prepared it. She stood side by side and explained how she wanted it done. I clung on every word. Someone cared. That’s all I could think of. I wasn’t excited about eating lunch. I was excited about standing with her and learning something new. She made me feel like I belonged in the kitchen. She gave me hope and was my beacon of inspiration. How could I get one of those sweet dresses she was wearing with the laced collar? I had the hairnet and it was cooler than any hat my brothers were wearing. It was my superpower. Every day as students lined up for lunch with sweat starting to form as they had to face the lunch ladies, I would walk by the kitchen and call the women by name and say hi and wave. Classmates would look at me like I was in some private club. How did I do that?? How was I able to smile and say hello like we just finished eating a big meal together. That hair net hat I wore gave me the power to feel confident. That hope and inspiration they gave me was exactly what I needed to fight off the hunger and the feeling that I didn’t belong. All they did was take an interest and teach and treat me like part of their kitchen. It felt great. I don’t know how they did it but they got me signed in an extra day every week. That’s two meals I would get. Suddenly though it wasn’t about the food. It was about the caring, the teaching and feeling like a part of a team.

It made me think of my career as a culinary instructor. Looking at photos, I’m standing right next to my students just like she did with me. I knew who needed a little help with food. I could see which students looked forward to eating what we made that day. I always made sure these students had food to take home. They didn’t know that I knew but you never forget that feeling. Even when there’s plenty of food, in your mind, you still think about where the next meal will come from. Teaching students how to cook was my way of making sure they had food.

Food insecurity is awful. When you are hungry, it’s not just a growling stomach. It’s painful. It’s painful physically and mentally. It makes you go in the bathroom and cry. Snack time was another reminder that you were going without unless the teacher decided to bring in something to share. Children that come to school hungry can’t concentrate on school work. They’re too busy trying to keep their stomachs quiet so the other kids stop laughing. They’re tired because they couldn’t sleep the night before because they went to bed hungry. It hurts in so many ways.

Thankfully today there are programs that offer breakfast and lunch at no charge to the students. There are places like in Kennebunk, Maine where a student can go to The Little Pantry outside of The Chamber of Commerce and help themselves to food in a cabinet on the porch whether it’s snacks or food to bring home to their siblings.

The Community Gourmet in Kennebunk started a Mission for Nutrition program and delivers care packages to students. These packages have small meals like macaroni and cheese cups, Chef Boyrdee meals, cereal, oatmeal, breakfast bars, juice boxes and snacks like chips and cookies to name a few. They’re in a reusable grocery bag folded over to look like a bag with sneakers or a book inside so no one makes fun of them or they don’t stand out as the kid with no food at home. These go to students who are currently unhoused or experiencing food insecurity at home. We put enough items inside for them to share with siblings. We try to set these up so that they have them for the weekend. This program is so important to me. I don’t want any child to have to worry about their next meal. When you share food items you share support. Hopefully they can find hope and know that we do care. I want them to know they are supported. The school does a great job making sure these students have food. We have an amazing community. They are always ready to help when asked for food drives and donations. It does take a village and our community steps up every time. The support they give is above and beyond and we are grateful for that because every donation means another child gets to have a meal.

I think about those lunch ladies all the time. I think about where I came from and if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t know what hope felt like. They cared. They showed up. They were teachers themselves. I was one of many students that had the opportunity to learn from them. I was one of many that got to have a full meal because of them. I was one of many that started to get better grades and looked forward to going to school especially on the days I was a big helper in the kitchen. Every good cook starts in the dish area. I’m proud to say I am a member of that club.I took those skills and used them. I still use them. I’m grateful for those women. They taught me a valuable lesson about caring. They also taught me how to wear a hair net and an apron perfectly because they took the time to show me. My other died when I was four. There was no mother figure. These women somehow knew it and showed me things that really made me feel supported.

This story is dedicated to the two women that cared and showed me that I was a special person. They showed appreciation and love for the food they served. They were very proud of the work they did and I was proud to be a part of that. And suddenly classmates stopped picking on me because they knew they had to face those lunch ladies every day and those women were my friends.

I was a member of a very elite club…The Lunch Lady Club.

If you’d like to learn more about The Community Gourmet and how you can help a student facing food insecurity, please visit our website and see the work they do in their Mission for Nutrition program: http://www.thecommunitygourmet.org