Every day students use the lunch line. But students seemingly forget about the people that make the magic happen. Behind the scenes, the lunch staff works hard every day for the Wahlert community to be able to eat every day. 

Jane Tebbe, the food service manager at Wahlert, arrives at school at 5 a.m. to prepare for the day. She does not serve food in the cafeteria directly, but she plans the daily menu and manages the lunchroom. “Every day we prepare different items and talk about fresh fruit and vegetables and any other new items we want to try or introduce,” Tebbe says. 

But being on the lunch staff requires a lot of last-minute changes that make it difficult. Food storage and menu changes are the toughest parts of the job according to Tebbe. The coming of Lent provides even more difficulties due to the staff’s inability to serve meat during the fast. The staff has to work together to overcome these challenges and provide meals for the students every day. 

Tebbe treats her job with much enthusiasm, which helps to keep the staff’s morale high and deal with challenges as a team. The enthusiasm and dedication put into her work keep the lunch staff running smoothly and efficiently. 

Having to cook meals for roughly 400 students every day is difficult, and students often tend to overlook the hard work and dedication that it takes to work on the lunch staff. Ms. Allison Pusateri, Wahlert’s cook, has a lot on her plate as part of her job. “Every day is different. I never do the same thing,” she says. 

The lunch staff does so much work every day to provide for the student body. It is easy to take advantage or to not think about and appreciate the work that they do every day.