Lunch is one of the most essential parts of the school day, yet it is often underappreciated, and the work that goes into making food for 1,000+ kids often gets overlooked. I interviewed just a few of the lunch staff to give the inside scoop and a behind-the-scenes look at the lunch periods you guys know and love.
“I think the most interesting thing that maybe the kids don’t know is that every single thing you see out there is counted — every roll, every biscuit, every scoop, every ranch dressing, ketchup packet — everything is accounted for,” shared Kara Rumsey, who is also referred to as K2 in the kitchen here at Sunlake. This helps them keep track of what students like and don’t like while making sure they don’t order too much or too little product.
A ton of preparation goes into getting lunch ready. Lunch staff member Camille Michielli shared how she will arrive hours before the cafeteria opens to start preparing lunches, all while also getting ready for breakfast for the students. Some of her coworkers even get here earlier than she does!
Now, we all know that every kid who eats lunch has a favorite meal — that one menu item you get excited for as soon as you see it. But did you know the lunch staff also has favorites to make? When asked, Amy shared an older menu item that isn’t around anymore: “The calzones we used to make, because we used to have this different dough the kids really liked. It was a really good product.” She even shared how, in the back, they would make personal pizzas and other items using that same dough. Kara also shared her favorite menu item to prepare: “Nachos, because they’re the easiest to make, the easiest to clean up, and the kids love them.”
Sunlake High School opened in the fall of 2007, and Amy helped open the school. She was hired into the district on April 1st, 2002, and was in management at Wesley Chapel Elementary before transferring here. After completing the manager internship program, she helped launch Sunlake, which was a big adjustment since it was a much larger school compared to where she had worked before. Amy started with only a small team of employees, but once they got the hang of it, they were thriving.
Amy also shared how the menus for every week are made: “The nutrition team at the district office handles all our menus. And they do take kids’ advice. If the kids speak up and send an email or reach out, they do look at stuff like that for the upcoming year.” So, for students who don’t always love the lunch menu, speak up! You might just get your favorite meal back.
Food quality and safety are taken very seriously in Sunlake’s kitchen. “I get in at 5 AM. I come in and do all the boring stuff, like get everything up and running, calibrate thermometers, and just make sure everything’s ready to go. We have to take the temperatures of everything — the coolers, the equipment — to make sure everything is within the right temperature. If there’s an issue, we file a work order to check Food Safety and Quality,” explained Kara, when describing a day in her life. Although there are plenty of vending machine on campus, they still have to abide by the district wellness policy. The school also benefits from vending machines by getting a portion of the proceeds.
However, the lunch staff also shared that they wish students would show a little more appreciation in small ways too. Kara said, “I wish they would eat more in the cafeteria and speak to the staff, not just point. That’d be really nice. Look at us in our face.” The staff puts in a lot of hard work every single day, and even small gestures like saying “thank you” and making eye contact can mean a lot to them. So the next time you see one of the staff, make sure to say thank you.
