The inside scoop on the cafeteria

by Krystle Ballatore 
Everyday, about 1,500 students and about 150 faculty and staff buy and consume food prepared by the lunch ladies here at St. James. Some clienteles are impressed by the food they prepare, and some are not.





There are many stringent guidelines to follow when preparing food for an entire school. All of the recipes used in the cafeteria of St. James are evaluated through the nutritional value analysis. The Wellness policy, followed by the cafeteria crew, mandates the calories, cholesterol, and many more nutritional measurements. The nutritional values of the meals are evaluated on a daily analysis.

The lunch crew has to keep the levels balanced as best as possible; they do this through offering certain sized portions to the customers. However, even though this is essential for the standard lunches, the ala-carte items (items being sold at a separate price then the items on the menu) do not have to follow the same policy.

Another responsibility the lunch crew has is keeping their budget balanced. Lunch lady Ms. Debbie Neidig said, “The food service is 100% self-supporting. Each school has a budget which they use to purchase the food. My job is to stay within the budget of $3.30 per day. The food service budget pays all of the lunch ladies salaries and for the food.” Also, due to the deliveries being on a day during the middle of the week (Wednesday) it is necessary for the cafeteria staff to plan ahead if they plan on keeping track with the budget.

The State Department sets the prices of the school lunches. They pay for a portion of all students’ lunches, and even fully cover some students’ lunch fees for the students who are in need of help. This is done through the Free and Reduced Lunch Program.

Many students have complained about the change in what is supposed to be “sweet tea.” I have heard many complaints that it is not sweet anymore. Ms. Neidig said, “We were required by the Wellness Program to cut back the amount of sugar in the tea. Being that we are in the south, we all like sweet tea. We are slowly cutting back on the sugar. I have found that we are serving less tea.” I suggested to Ms. Neidig to try to sweeten the tea artificially. She explained, “I would only artificially sweeten the tea if I had 98.9% of the students wanting it. I think artificial sweetener is more harmful to your body.” So, for those who are still upset with the change in the tea, contact Ms. Neidig. She will be happy to speak with you.

Ranch is often used by students and teachers here at St. James. Some people use it for a salad, celery sticks, even French fries. The only ranch served here is light ranch, which is artificially sweetened. I am positive that Ms. Neidig is not thrilled about that, but the Wellness Program is responsible for the change.

Another complaint that I have heard in the lunch room is that there are too many onions in the food. I asked Ms. Neidig about the generous usage of onions in the lunches and she replied with, “Onions are a vegetable and I am going to squeeze them in when I can. They alter flavor like salt does and are basic to almost every recipe. Onions are a cruciferous food which means that the gasses in onions help to break down food, which is very good for your body.”

The cafeteria staff has to work tediously, yet rapidly at the same time. There are many guidelines to be followed, and precautions to take. The cafeteria staff prepares and serves food that they spend a great amount of time and thought on; therefore, the food not only tastes good, but is healthy as well.