Our New Normal, Volume XVII

After a year in the wilderness (metaphorically speaking, of course), we’re back having lunch in this spacious, aesthetically pleasing multi-purpose facility that serves as the Middle and Upper School cafeteria.  
 

Actually, we’re kind of back. 

Instead of the conversation – OK, the din – and the energy so typical of the building named in honor of legendary coach/athletic director Charlie McFall, lunch service is now a grab-and-go operation and then retreat to the terrace and lawn to enjoy your noon repast.

It’s a step up from last year, though, when we brown-bagged it and ate in our assigned zones and each cafeteria table was essentially an open-air office from which faculty members, strategically spaced, operated each day.

Welcome, folks, to another edition of Our New Normal, a look at changes around campus brought to you, as was the case last year, by the Covid protocols that make life different but, if followed to the letter of the law, keep us safe.

On this Wednesday afternoon, we’re sitting in a booth, talking to Myra Edwards, the food service manager for Lexington Independents. While she’s new to the McFall Hall operation, she’s been in the business 30 years, nine of which she worked for Aladdin Food Services and under whose auspices she oversaw the Centennial Hall cafeteria from 2016-2020.

It’s now 2 p.m. Most of the work is done for the day. Carl Napier from the housekeeping staff is dutifully mopping the floor and tidying up in preparation for Thursday. The kitchen staff is putting the finishing touches on their clean-up duties.

Other than actually having a cafeteria, what’s your new normal? I asked.

“The biggest change for us is the to-go containers,” Myra responded, mentioning that she’d purchased about 2,000 of them. “There was no question that we had to figure out the infrastructure prior to getting off the ground. We initially talked about doing a disposable box that would go in the trash, but that would have created too much trash. Then we came to a decision that we were going to do a plastic box that would be washed daily.

“Then, we looked into how we were going to handle these boxes. The biggest thing we had was the drying of the containers. When the containers go through the dishwasher, they’re still not dry enough to be able to be stacked. Plastic doesn’t heat up the same way metal does, so we had to find some way to air-dry them so they’d be sanitary. We went online and purchased four carts from a company called Ossi. They hold 125 containers apiece. We slide them into slots on the carts, and they’re ready for the next day.”

Seems like food service is much more than just serving food, I offered. 

“Yes, it is,” Myra replied. “Another part of that is disposables are very hard to get. The supply chain has a shortfall in every area. Food is short. We’re not always getting the product that we order. For example, last week, we had fried chicken on the menu. We couldn’t get fried chicken so we made our own fried chicken. That’s a part of what we have to figure out.

“Paper in particular has been a problem. The plastic ware and the paper boats that we use for so many items are in very short supply. We don’t know from one week to the next what we’re going to get. We’re changing companies all the time. We pull from here, pull from there.”

Is there a Plan B if we can’t get what we need, or have we had that problem? I ask.

She knocks on the table between us, which isn’t actually wood, but it’ll have to do in a pinch. Seems appropriate, we agree.

Any changes with the food offerings? I inquire. The old staple – the salad bar – hasn’t reappeared. 

“There’re definitely still CDC restrictions on that,” she said. “I’m not sure they will get lifted any time soon.”

And there’re a lot of individually wrapped and packaged items, I said. Looks like a lot of care is going into keeping things as sanitary as possible.

“It’s a responsibility, no question,” Myra said. “Food service always was a responsibility. Now it’s probably magnified tenfold. We stepped up the washing of the hands and wearing of the masks again in the kitchen. Now, we’re fully masked around the clock. Socially distanced as well. We try to keep distance between each station.”

Speak about your staff, I said. It seems like they’re very focused on doing their jobs well.

“A lot of our old crew did not return,” she said. “They had to find something else or they changed direction and used this point in time to go do something entirely different. We had to go from scratch and start looking, advertising. It was a real struggle to find staff.”
    
But you have a full complement now?
   
“A full complement,” she replied. “Yes. Touch wood.”

“Yes,” she said. “Very good. Everybody’s glad to be back at work. That’s the biggest takeaway. Everybody has a job. Everybody’s getting a paycheck. And working for a company they enjoy. And doing it for kids that we love and care about.”
   ~Weldon Bradshaw