By Juliette Davis, Julia Joshi, Veronica Lee, and Brittany Power

Constantly moving, the nine cafeteria staff members work tirelessly to serve the students and staff of Hopkinton High School. Their daily schedule consists of preparing and serving breakfast and lunch, cleaning the kitchen and the cafeteria, stocking the pantry and freezer, and preparing food for the next day. “I get here the earliest,” says superviser Audrey Vorce. “I wake up at 3:30 in the morning and arrive at about quarter to 5:00. The rest of the staff come in shifts”.

The staff has to have all breakfast items prepared by 7:00 a.m. in order to be ready for the early rush of students in the morning. The lunch deadline comes shortly after at 10:45 a.m. With such a short period of time to prepare to serve hundreds of students and staff, their schedule is carefully planned out. Lunch time is the busiest time of the day, running until 12:15 p.m. However, the staff’s timely schedule does not stop them from socializing with students and making people smile. Each staff member is dedicated to helping students receive and purchase food. Senior Josh Martel is often found in the cafeteria socializing with the staff. “The lunch ladies are all sweethearts,” says Martel. “They’re always so cheerful, friendly, and up for a conversation.”

The cafeteria staff also carves out time in their day for providing work and food related jobs for Mrs. Bacon’s students at HHS. Students complete jobs with the assistance of the cafeteria staff such as wrapping cookies, cutting fruit, stocking the water bottle refrigerator, and stocking apples and oranges. Mrs. Bacon organizes when students go down to the cafeteria to complete a task. “Because of the flexibility of the cafeteria staff, my students are provided with an opportunity to learn hands on vocational tasks during their school day which they will be able to apply to their future,” said Bacon.

Many students have a great connection with the cafeteria ladies and appreciate their dedication not only to serving breakfast and lunch, but serving smiles.