The lunch staff at Nashoba could arguably be the most essential aspect of the students and faculties daily routines; their constant dedication receives not nearly enough recognition for all that they do.

Principal, Dr. Graham remarks, “I think our cafeteria staff is wonderful! They are always smiling and trying to help students, and they love working with teenagers. They are some of the most popular adults in the building!” The café-staff clearly enjoys the positive vibes that the Nashoba student body shoots their way.

The kind woman behind the snack shack who you buy your snacks from everyday is Jane, a woman who LOVES her job. She started off as a teacher’s aid at Florence Sawyer twenty years ago, and moved up to Nashoba where she started to run the salad bar. Though times have changed, and the salad bar has disappeared, Jane’s love of Nashoba has  remained strong.

Her favorite thing at Nashoba is working the Best Buddies. This amazing opportunity makes each and everyday enjoyable. She shares that, “Cassie helps sell the food, all I do is the computer!”. She also has other Best Buddies preparing cookies, and making breakfast sandwiches.

Both lunch ladies, Kari and Jane, can both agree on one thing: Nashoba students are very polite. Kari shares, “you don’t get that everywhere!”. It makes coming to work easy.

The café-staff do so much more than spread happiness; they spread incredible food! Students rave about the tasty chicken patties and tangy fruit smoothies. Senior student, MaryKate Magliozzi, shares, “the lunch ladies sweet attitudes match with the sweet taste of their cookies”.

Though the food served can collectively be classified as awesome, there is always room for improvement. It was suggested by senior, Kate Zeliff that our lunch food has some flaws. She rants: “I don’t really like the whole grain, and sometimes the veggies aren’t so great”. But Kate doesn’t know is the cafe-staffs goal a health standards. Lunch lady, Kari, shares that, “everything breaded is whole grain, with no sodium”. 

Dr. Graham shares that, “Overall I think the cafeteria staff do a great job, but I would like to see us continue to expand the types of food that we have available. I would like to see us continue to offer new types of foods that students want to eat.”  The café-staff feel the same way; they are always open to new foods and snacks. Jane always wants to “try new things!”. She has recently brought in Kraves s’mores, mini choco-chip cookies, and Salt and Vinegar chips.

Our café-staff also takes into account the wants and needs of the student body. Jane says that “purple Doritos and cookies sell equally well”. She knows the true crowd pleasing snacks and works hard to supply the demand. Jane also wants to make some improvements, “I would like to see hot chocolate comeback, also longer lunches.”  

Lucky for Nashoba scholars, the lunch ladies are very accommodating when it comes to allergies. “Our cafeteria staff is very careful to make sure we offer different types of food for people with food allergies, and to make sure we keep a kitchen and cafeteria that maintains safety for people with food allergies” as reported by Dr. Graham. Safety is key for the café-staff. Kari says that when you ring up your food at the end of the lunch line, the staff has information on their screens that alert kids with allergies if anything on their tray is concerning. She says, “if you are registered”, you are safe.

The essential job of supplying students with fuel often goes unnoticed, but the café-staff still works tirelessly to make Nashoba happy. Dr. Graham says, “Students can’t learn as well if they are hungry, and our cafeteria staff do a great job of making sure we have food available throughout the day to meet a wide variety of interests and diets.” Next time you bite into a cheesy-crust pizza, make sure you remember where that food came from.