DESERET NEWS – “For most of her seven years serving planning meals for schoolchildren, Anna Fredricks felt a bit peripheral to the educational experience.
It took a pandemic, but lunch ladies as they are more commonly known, at least in places like San Juan County, are finally getting the love — and recognition — they deserve.
“It kind of goes without saying, but our kitchen staff, our food service people, they were incredible,” said Mike Tuckfield, principal of Tse’bii’nidzisgai Elementary School, where 100% of the students rely on free lunches.
“Academics is our main priority, of course,” he said. “But second to it, would be the health and welfare of our community. The only way we could continue to do that was do food service.”
In about two days, Fredricks and her food service staff went from an almost invisible support network to a vital system that helped sustain children in the remote area that has one of the highest per capita COVID-19 infection rates in the country…”