Every day hundreds of students and staff buy lunch on campus. But despite the familiar faces serving lunch, the twelve women that work in the cafeteria are often overlooked.
Carrie Alexander works from six in the morning until two in the afternoon. As manager, she has several different jobs every day, many of which students would not know about.
“I come in, I turn on all the equipment, I do all the grocery orders, I help prep all the food, cook the food, I serve at lunch, I do the dishes, I do about everything,” Alexander said. “We take a break between ten and ten thirty, and we have lunch then. It would seem early but we do get here around six o’clock so that’s when we get our break.”
Rebecca Lustberg has been working as a lunch lady for two years. She works two other jobs while also attending college.
“It’s really rewarding when people come through the line,” Lustberg said. “I make all the cookies and parfaits, so watching the kids be like, you know, ‘oh those are so cute!’ is really great. I also nanny afterwards, and I’m a cake decorator. And I’m going to Quad C. I graduated from Allen High School in 09.”
The women start preparing food hours before anyone is hungry and they clean up a long time after C lunch is finished. Serving hundreds of students can be fast-paced and difficult, but their main challenge is to try to keep the menu interesting and new.
“The hardest part of my job is just continuing to be creative, trying to find new entrees, and stuff that you guys enjoy, keep the menu exciting for you guys,” Alexander said. “I want to keep it exciting, you know, so that we’re not always just serving chicken strips. We want you to be excited to come and eat every day.”
Although there is an occasional complaint about what is being served, most students who buy lunch in the cafeteria notice the positive attitudes of the women who work there just as much as the food.
“I buy my lunch every day, and the lunch ladies are really nice,” freshman Olivia Whitehead said. “Every time I walk up they always have a smile on their face.”
Her job may require a lot of work, but Alexander has enjoyed making and serving lunch for four years.
“I think the Lovejoy students are very nice students, very well behaved, very considerate,” Alexander said.” And I think it’s a privilege to work for Lovejoy. I love my job. The kids are really the best part.”
