The Cafe Way

When the bell rings for lunch at Aragon, students rush over to the lunch lines, eager to get their meals. After a morning of studying and writing, most students only have one thing on their mind: lunch. However, while counting down the minutes until lunch, few think about the workers behind the scenes, busily preparing and serving the food that we eat.

The Aragon cafeteria workers are a mixture of paid students and adults. Many high schoolers consider working in the mall or in a fast food restaurant for their first job, but many don’t realize the Aragon cafeteria is also a viable option.

“Not only do you get paid, but you also get free food,” said freshman Madison Miller, who works in the cafeteria for the entirety of brunch and half of lunch.

Despite the bene ts of working in the cafeteria, some students turn away from this job because they don’t want to lose part of their lunch or brunch. However, Miller didn’t see this as an issue.

“I was bored during lunch anyways,” Miller said. “It’s really worth it, and it’s a good experience.”

“I like working here because my family’s here”

In addition to student workers, the cafeteria also has many adult workers cooking, supervising and selling. One of these workers is Maribel Lopez of the San Mateo Union High School District’s Nutrition Services.

“I like working here because my family’s here,” Lopez said. “I really like the kids and giving everyone their lunch. I just love helping the young.”

Lopez also feels the job has helped her with social skills.

“It not only helps me learn how to socialize with adults,” Lopez said. “But it also teaches me how to socialize with kids.”

Similar to Lopez, Miller feels the job provides a valuable learning experience.

“I’m really clumsy, and I often bump into things and drop things, which you can’t do in a kitchen,” Miller said. “Working here has helped me be more aware of my surroundings.”

Even though many students enjoy the food served at Aragon, cafeteria food is often negatively portrayed in the media as unhealthy and processed. However, both Lopez and Miller strongly refute this idea and emphasize the freshness of the food at Aragon.

“Everything is made fresh for the kids,” Lopez said. “We have to cut the fruit and put together the salads to give a lot of choices.”

“There’s nothing secretive about it,” Miller said. “They make all their food here.”

In addition, all food served at Aragon follows the United States Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines and follows wellness policies put into place by the Senate.

Despite the hard work people like Miller and Lopez do to prepare meals for students, Miller feels that sometimes the staff can be underappreciated.

“[Every day], we [students] have to come in five minutes early,” Miller said. “Then people will just say ‘give me nachos’ or ‘sandwich.’ It’s just kind of weird for people to talk like that to you. It’d be nice if people would say ‘please’ or ‘thank you.’”

However, at the end of the day, Miller finds the job rewarding and worth it.

“I find the job really fun,” Miller said. “Work doesn’t have to be hard or boring.”