March 2, 1978 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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March 2, 1978 |
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How.'bout the ones with box lunches?
"YOU CAN'T PLEASE everybody," concedes O J-dispensing
Floda Schab, chief cook and bottlewasher (not to mention
purchaser, menu-maker and amateur child psychologist) for
the district. "But we've got to remember it's the kids that
are feeding us, as much as we're feeding them ..."
f
HOMEMADE DONUTS come into being under the
experienced hands of cook Anabel Isbell at the high school.
OLIVE LANMAN, full-time cook at the high school, loads
up another tray of burger patties for baking in one of the
district's 12 industrial-size electric ovens. Frying is kept to
If you 'ar
what you
By STEVE PATCH "You're being punished" or
Relax, mum. And, dad, you "Mommy forgot to defrost the
can take your fist out of your tv roast."
dinner. And then, on the other hand,
Just because junior is eating there are your back-to-basics,
all his vegetables these days wood.fiber-eating adults who
doesn't mean he's got the scream "cancer!" at the very
marijuana munchies. Not mention of practically anything
necessarily. But you might want less natural than, say, blanched
to sneak a peek in his Charlie's pine cones.
Angeislunchpail, just to be sure. '' Y°u can't please
What's that you say? He's everybody," concedes Floda. "I
been leaving it at home of late? don't care how hard you try.
Buying hot lunch instead!? Well, And we can't be expected to
then, it's perfectly clear. 'change eating habits established
The culprit must be none years before in the home. After
other than Floda Schab and her all, it's the environment of the
gang of kitchen helpers, chief kids long before they get to
instigators in the new wave of school that forms the basis of
nutritional integrity among their eating habits, and really the
school hot-lunch mongers, most we can do is make sure we
Floda' is - and has been for at least offer them a balanced
the last four years - cafeteria diet."
supervisor for Shelton School Meeting federal regulations
District. That entitles her and with regard to the provision of
her accomplices to a daily shot balanced proteins, fruits and
at the joyous task of maintaining vegetables and milk products is ";
the mealtime contentment of not the hardest part of ..... ,
variously 2,500-3,000 young menu-making, says Mrs. Schab.
junk-food junkies while The challenge is in keeping the
simultaneously meeting the kids interested. ....
increasingly stringent nutritional "We've got to remember that ....
requirements of the federal it's the kids that are feeding us,
government, as much as we're feeding them,"
It is a challenge Mrs. Schab says Floda. "They are our
welcomes with the zeal of a paychecks. So we have to keep
platoon sergeant at Marine Corps in mind what they want - not
boot camp. If you don't believe merely what's good for them."
it, poke your head in the Hence, Mrs. Schab has made
district's central kitchen in the certain concessions. One was the
basement of the Reed Building ala carte line at the high school.
some frenetic weekday morning With it, any student so inclined .............
- last Thursday morning, for can have a hamburger every day.
instance. Or french fries.
il " "
There, amid a cluster of Another concession is to
suspended stainless steel ladles the power of the adolescent
and long-handled pots and sweet tooth. Although she
steaming kettles and great admits most Americans could do they eat something, but you
gleaming ovens, you find the without a lot of the sugar they can't make them eat it."
attentive form of a little fireplug consume, Floda doesn't try to On the subject of meats, Mrs.
of a woman, neat as a pin. fight the tide. Schab allows as to how most
Floda Schab comes across as "If you aren't willing to give Americans probably do eat too
a pintsized and somewhat the kids a little something sweet much of it, as a whole. "They'd
overwhelmed version of Beaver with their meal, you might as probably be much healthier if.
Cleaver's mother ONLY as long well forget it," she says. "They they ate more fish and chicken
as her body and/or mouth want to see that cookie or piece and such instead," she says.
remains motionless - which im't of cake." "That's why I try to have things
as a majority of like macaroni and cheese and
are finicky about soup a.couple of times' a month
like THAT!" she barks, leveling a eating naked eggs, Floda sees at least, and fish probably at
finger at your straggly locks, that they get them more or less least three times.
"We don't want the kids pullin' incognito: in cookies, pies, cakes, ."And I probably use as much
hairs out of their turkey gravy!" pudding, etc. turkey as ground beef,
Moments later, ha,met in And because she knows altogether."
place, you are being led quickly hot-lunch lines lengthen For the diehard vegetarian
through the crowded kitchen, whenever the fare includes and federal nutritional-standard-
tourguide Floda summarizing as favorites such as hamburgers or, bearer alike, Mrs. Schab's ala
you go. best of all, pizza, Floda tries to carte program at the high school
"This ,here's your turkey and put such crowd.pleasers on the has been a big favorite - with
gravy," she says, lifting the lid of menu more often than perhaps the former group because of its
a caldron-like kettle. "We make equally nutritional entrees such regular assortment of salad
50 gallons of it for three as, say, macaroni and cheese or dishes, raw vegetables and fruit,
elementary schools and the bean soup. and with the latter because of its
middle school. We'll probably But she draws the line when attention to balance.
feed about 950 kids today, not it comes to compromising food "Before, the state sorta
counting the high school, where value. And, every now and then, frowned on the ala carte line,"
we have a completely separate she'll feature something a little explains Floda. "They were-
facility." out of the ordinary, even if it concerned that it lacked
Floda moves to a 15-gallon means an initially cold reception, nutritional balance. So we came
bucket of mashed spuds, through "We have things like spinach up with a daily menu with red,
which kitchen crewpersons Mafia and beets probably twice a year, white and blue combinations. By
Frazer and Heddy Godwin are is all," she says. "But we do try selecting at least one item from
dragging a huge wire whip. to have the kids at least try each color, a student would be
"We make three of these them. We have what we call a assured of getting the full state
containers of potatoes," says the 'one-bite' thing going - and requirement."
boss lady, "and the kids go you'd be really surprised how Another innovation, this one
through it pretty regularly, many of the kids will take that on a trial basis currently, is
Turkey and gravy isn't their one bite and discover they like what's known as family-style
favorite meal, but it's one of the it, after all." meals. Every day at Bordeaux
more popular ones. And, of Liver is perhaps the one School the kids in each
course, we offer a choice of more.or-less traditional classroom sit down to a table
hamburger gravy at the middle main-course food Floda has not and more or less help themselves
school, too, plus the usual sack even tried to serve. "'Like I say," from serving dishes, just as they
lunches." she laughs, "you can suggest might at home.
Meanwhile, up at the high
school's kitchen, Floda's gals are
busy peparing the same meal .....
plus the usual ala carte Tare
offered there daily. There are
hamburgers, three or four ]f
different types of sandwiches, .
french fries, salads, fresh fruits, " I
desserts.
And none of this can be
prepared before they've fixed .,.,.,.
breakfast, you understand. Every
morning they feed some 500-600
kids a well-rounded meal, +,:<,
including the likes of cereal,
waffles and French toast, donuts,
fruit or orange juice and milk
and, once or twice a month,
eggs.
But it's not enough that
Floda be expected to see that .....
everything is prepared and ready
for the delivery trucks that come
every morning at 10:20 and
10:40. It's not enough that she
do all the purchasing and
portioning and menu-planning.
She also has to answer to her
ever.present critics. There are the
to00
TOAST OF THE LUNCHROOM -- next to pizza, of
hamburger, Monday's prime fare at Evergreen Elementary
Whereas poor planning means
little more than a couple days of
leftovers in most households,
mismanagement in Floda's
kitchehs means more than a few
groans come mealtime. The
quantities involved are simply
too great.
For instance, on an average
hamburger day, Floda and crew
turn out in the neighborhood of
1,600 burgers. On:days the
Colonel's got compeilton,
500-600 pounds of chicken parts
hit the baking pans. And parched
throats at the high school alone
guzzle about 50 gallons of milk a
day.
So Floda makes it her
business to cook for a projected
number of hot-lunch buyers
daily and not wind up with too
many leftovers too often.
With meals running 55-59
cents per child (63.64 including
milk) and with a standing rule
that nothing gets reheated more
than .once, Floda can't afford
not to run a tight ship.
"I'11 tell you one thing about
the food service," she says. "The
lunchroom has to pay for itself
every step of the way. And you
just don't go over the budget. I
don't know if you know
(Superintendent) Louis Gfinnell
or not, but I wanna tell you:
You go over the budget and you
can really hear him all over
town!"
At this, the drill:sergeant
demeanor slips a tad and Floda
cuts loose with one of her
patented belly laughs. "Oh, I'm
tough, all right," she allows, at
length, "-but to work with
kids you've got to be!"
kids who can't stand anything
that competes with the taste of L.UNCHLINE MUGGER awaits his tray at Evergreen, As evidenced by the
chocolate milk. There are those plastic bags between grub .and fingers, cleanliness ire a prime conc.ern.
to whom most vegetables outside Cafeteria boss Floda Schab insists on hairnets, for instance, and has been
a minimum -- both for the sake of time and calories, of perhaps corn mean either known to go on the warpath at th sight of an ordinary housefly.
Page 12 - Shelton.Mason County Journal - Thursday, March 2, 1978
It seems Floda would have it kitchen suffered
no other way, though. Her own on pizzl - day.
bust
children now grown, she looks at gals e
d
her on-the-job "kids" as perhaps fixin's down
something of an endearing for preparation
challenge, back just in time
"You need a full course in "But it's
psychology to work with kids," kee ping
she admits. "But the important sterne,"
thing is you've got to remember
to treat them like people. Maybe institutional
not the way y.ou'd trea, youi
own, she adds. erupting into
another rolling peal of laughter, notion as
"but like people." got to have
As for her cohorts, among she says. "A1
them Anabel Isbell, Olive changeable
Lanman, Aloha Krumpols, Frieda State recipes
Christy, Myrna Weaver, Maria sure, but
Frazer, Heddy Godwin. Shirley season her
Chamberlin, Pauline Ferrier and Ch
Nancy Burgess, Floda speaks Floda insl'
with admiration, environment
"I have a very fine, very "You
dedicated crew," says the chief, you get more
"There's just nothing that seems kitchen." she
to deter these girls." her eye. "
Not that there haven't been bu-nch of
close calls, mind you. Once, for together."
example, the high school's
ANOTHER BURGER bites the dust. I
Floda Schab estimates an average of a
pass the palates of school young ster'•
they're on the menu.