The lunch ladies begin their day early in the morning preparing breakfast for cadets.
They then start working tirelessly throughout the school day to supply lunch to UMA;
Tonya Farley, Marrissa Lopez, Jenn May, and Katie Strokes are the women behind the
scenes helping to provide students meals.
When asked what they think about their job as UMA lunch ladies, they all respond
with “We love it!” Tonya Farley replies, “Yes, we do. I absolutely love it here. I
feel like it’s a family. You become part of a family—these ladies are part of my
family now. Even the students and the other staff members make it so fun.”
Being a lunch lady is important with the connection it forms with students.
“We get to know their likes and dislikes, and some of them open up to us about their
home life. Just knowing that we’re doing our best to provide nutritious meals so they
can finish out the rest of their day.” Tonya Farley shares. “Although the job is hard,
we do show up every day and strive to do our very best for you guys, the students. The
connection with the people we’re serving—that’s what it’s all about.”
This is only made possible because of how small of a school UMA is. Tonya Farley
shares, “I like that we’re a smaller school, so we can get to know the students on a
more personal level. Some of you share your stories with us, and I love that. I love
that feeling that we’re not so big that we don’t know most of you on a first-name
basis.” Jenn May adds on to this, “It’s such a small kitchen, so we just have fun. We
show up, work, and have fun.”
Being a lunch lady is not just about filling trays—it’s about providing a service to
students. “We only see them for a few minutes a day, but in that time, we build relationships,” says Tonya Farly, UMA’s longest serving lunch lady. She has worked at UMA for nine years. Before those years working as a lunch lady, Tonya was “looking for a
change from child care because burnout is a real thing, and I was just looking for something different but still in the field of serving children. I landed my fantastic job that I have here. I started out as just a kitchen helper, and shortly after that, I was able to move up to the position I am now.”
Outside of school, Tonya Farley has a passion for roller skating, “I’ve been here long
enough for you all to know that I enjoy roller skating. Roller skating is a passion in
my life. It probably saved my life a couple of years ago when I went through a life-
changing event. That’s what I turned to. I like to roller skate and make jewelry in my
spare time.”
Jenn May, a former stay-at-home mom who did daycare from home, works at UMA as
a lunch lady. She wanted to work at the school her kids attend. In her spare time, she
goes to her kids’ sporting events.
UMA’s youngest lunch lady; Katie Strokes, had numerous separate jobs before UMA,
“I just went to high school and worked at many different places,” Katie remarks. She
then found her job as a lunch lady because of her love of making food. In her spare
time, Kate Strokes likes to “paint, draw, snowboard, read books, and stuff like that.”
She wants to let students know that the lunch ladies “Do our very best with what
we’re given and hope you appreciate it.”
Marrisa Lopez is a lunch lady because “I’m a mom. I love working at the school my
kids go to.” In her spare time, she also goes to her kids’ sporting events. The lunch
ladies have to show up every day at UMA, no matter the reason. “We show up even if
we know the day will be hard. We’ve got kids to feed. There are no sick days,”
Marrisa Lopez states.
The lunch ladies would like students to know that “We’d love to give you all the food
you want, but unfortunately, that’s frowned upon,” Jenn May says. Marrisa Lopez
wants students to know that “There is a lunch lady appreciation day—it’s Friday, May
2nd.” Make sure to celebrate it when it comes up! Tonya Farley shares, “I want you
all to know that we have rules and regulations we have to follow.” The lunch ladies
try their best with what they are given and do their best to provide to students.
One thing all the lunch ladies would like is “New equipment!” Marrisa Lopez
declares excitedly. Tonya Farley shares, “I’ve been here for nine years, and the
kitchen could really use some updates. This is in the works, though. If I could change
one thing, it would be making the cafeteria bigger and the kitchen bigger. I work with
the other south campus and they could also use some updating and their cafeteria is really small. So if I could change one thing it would be to have made their cafeteria a
little bit bigger and our kitchen bigger than what it is.”
“Speaking of new equipment, It was nice to get new flooring when we did the remodel
and new wall, new paint, and that, but as far as that goes. If money was not a problem
and I could do whatever I wanted, I would update the kitchen, a walk-in freezer—that
would be fantastic in the future, but other than that, just updated equipment. The
building is old, and the equipment was here before we got here, so we don’t know
how old it was and I’ve been here ten years, so do the best we can with what we
have,” Tonya Farley comments.
