TOP PHOTO: There’s a lot that goes into your school meal.

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF) – There’s no snapping of fingers and lunch is ready at your Campbell County School cafeteria. Even though lunch ladies make it look easy, there’s more to it than smiling and serving up delicious meals.

Besides the daily grind of early hours and a fast pace, there’s a lot of background preparation that your Campbell County Schools Lunch Ladies go through to make sure breakfast and lunch are properly prepared.

The staff attends food safety training every year to learn about the latest updates when it comes to safe food temps, regulations and proper storage. When available, lunch ladies attend culinary school.

Then COVID-19 came along. That was a game changer for all of us. School Nutrition Director Jamie Gillum explains how the staff stays safe from COVID. “We are social distancing all throughout the day; even on lunch break,” said Gillum. Masks are also worn by the lunch ladies.

Jamie Gillum, school nutrition director, stands in front of one of the food lines at Campbell High right before the lunch rush.

Even during the shutdown in March 2020, the staff masked up and served food to the youngsters throughout the county. “They never missed a beat, and they prepared meals non-stop through the highest outbreaks of COVID-19” adds Gillum.

When the school year started back in 2020-2021, the lunch ladies continued to prepare meals for their schools as well as meals for their virtual learners. Those meals were transported via the Twigloo School Nutrition Bus.

There’s a lot more than anyone of us ever knew behind your lunch ladies smile and delicious meal. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 09/08/2021-6AM-PHOTOS COURTESY OF WLAF’S CHARLIE HUTSON)