Cafeteria workers are superheroes. These capeless crusaders are: "Faster than kids lining up for recess! More powerful than a school bus! Able to whip up 50 pounds of green beans in a single batch!" These undercover superheroes demonstrate a variety of superpowers everyday, and have soared to new heights during a pandemic. Maryland School Lunch Superheroes displayed:
- Endless Energy - woke at the crack of dawn to start their work preparing meals
- Caring - put their hearts into making nutritious school meals packed with lots of love
- Strength and Stamina - prepared and bagged millions of lunches in 2020
- Ability to Improvise - shifted from the cafeteria line to the curbside lane to ensure safe pick-up of meals
- Creativity - Made lunch pick-up fun by dressing up, creating themes and spreading cheer
Friday, May 7th, 2021 is School Lunch Hero Day. This is a great day to show your appreciation to cafeteria workers for all the hard work they do daily and throughout the year. Here is the official School Lunch Hero Day website where you will find ways to celebrate, stories, graphics, and gear.
Use one of the ideas below to celebrate your cafeteria staff:
- Show-up and buy a school meal - Cafeteria staff enjoy seeing the students come through the cafeteria line. Seeing some new faces will likely bring them cheer and provide an opportunity for students to say “hello” and “thank you.” If your child typically enjoys a packed meal, this would be a great day to allow them to join the festivities and enjoy a school lunch.
- Shower them with “Thanks!” - Everyone appreciates an expression of gratitude. Putting your thoughts in a card and signing your name means a lot. Plan to send a card and ask others to do the same. Take the lead and organize a schoolwide campaign! Teachers can print these handy Super Hero themed cards and have students in class sign their names or write a comment. Parents and school administrative staff can participate as well. Spread the word so cafeteria staff feel showered with appreciation on their special day. Cards can be handed off in the cafeteria line, during meal pick-up, or mailed to your school: Attention Cafeteria Manager.
- Make it Fun - Surprise the cafeteria staff with a parade of superheroes! Help students create homemade Superhero masks or capes they can wear when they pick up their lunches in the cafeteria or during curbside pick-up.
- Drawings/Collages - Students can draw pictures to illustrate their favorite school lunches and highlight a fruit or vegetable that gives them their own super power. Does your superpower of STRENGTH come from broccoli or your X-RAY VISION come from carrots? A budding artist might like to attempt a portrait of their favorite school lunch hero eating one of their favorite school lunch foods.
- Video/Photo Collage - If you are handy with video production, produce a short video which includes students and parents saying hello, thank you, or making a special comment about what they like best about school lunch or being in the cafeteria.
- Make a Sign - Who doesn’t enjoy making a fun and colorful poster or sign? Try a neon poster board or colorful paint or markers/crayons to make your message stand out. Display posters/signs on your car as you pick up meals. If your child is in school, make a class poster to place in the cafeteria. Can you hang it somewhere where it will surprise cafeteria staff when they arrive at school?
- Social Media - Share your thoughts and appreciation with a social media post through your school or personal Facebook or Instagram page. Share about your favorite foods or give a “shout out” by mentioning names and giving praise to those working hard to prepare the meals. Send a message to teachers and parents at the school to do the same! Share your Facebook posts with @EatSmartMD, or use the hashtag #mdsnaped so we can share in your celebration!
Be creative and have fun! Kids love to do for others and see the happiness their actions bring forth. Appreciation is a gift to both the giver and the receiver. And, kindness and gratitude are SUPER POWERS too!
