It’s 7 a.m on a weekday. The sun is starting to come up, casting long shadows across the high school as the lunch staff make their way into the campus. They begin to set up their stations, prepare the kitchen and get everything ready so students and staff can go through their day with a full stomach. 

Coby’s story:

Coby Martinez is one of the eight workers from the NGC Cafeteria who makes the dream of fresh, hot food every single day a reality. 

Before working here, Martinez was a retail worker for over 40 years, yet she always dreamed of working at a school. After her three grandchildren were born, she decided to finally apply for a job as a cafeteria worker; she has now worked here for five years.

“I always wanted to work at a school,” Martinez said. “I was lucky to get this job, and I’m super happy to do what I wanted to do 20 years ago.”  

When she was starting out, Martinez kept working at her retail job. She explained how it’s common to have a separate job apart from working at the school in the lunch staff. Nevertheless, she couldn’t keep up with both jobs since she also had to take care of her 90-year-old mother.

“I decided to stay with the school,” Martinez said. “[The hours] are perfect, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. I [get to] take care of my mother early and get back in the afternoon.”

The first thing Martinez does when she gets to school in the morning is clean and sanitize everything. 

“That’s the number one important thing- to sanitize,” Martinez said. “That way everybody [does] not get sick.”

After cleaning her area, Martinez does the two tasks assigned to her: wipe the chocolate milk and refill the chips. After that, she begins to bake the cookies. 

“[The cookies] are fresh every morning,” Martinez said, “when I make the cookies, they haven’t been sitting there for one day, they are fresh.”

In the NGC Cafeteria, there are five staff members, two assistant managers and one manager who takes care of both cafeterias. In order to keep the cafeteria running, all the workers divide the work between themselves. 

“The best thing about this job is that the coworkers make it so easy, [they] make me want to stay here,” Martinez said. “[Apart from that], the students, the teachers- they’re all amazing.” 

Before they leave for the day, the kitchen staff makes sure to clean and sanitize everything so that it is ready for the next day. 

“I’m happy,” Martinez said. “I’ve come a long way, and I’ve never been so happy in my life. I just love this school, the students are fantastic. I always try to have a smile on my face in order to make the students happy.” 

Eva’s Story:

Working alongside Martinez in the NGC Cafeteria is Eva Castillo, a staff member who has been at the school for over 16 years. 

Before she worked here, Castillo used to work as a house cleaner. In 2010, her sister in law who worked at the school introduced her to the idea of working as a cafeteria staff member. 

“She was the one who told me [about the job] and helped me work here,” Castillo said. 

Now, Castillo is a key member of the cafeteria staff. Usually, she mostly takes care of the main breakfast and lunch line. 

“I like everything [here],” Castillo said. 

When she was first starting out the job, Castillo felt very lost and confused. Like any new job, she explained, it can be pretty hard to get used to.

“You are already accustomed to your other job,” Castillo said, “[but when] you start knowing how and what- it starts to become easier.”

The first thing Castillo does when she comes in is clean her area thoroughly. After doing this, she begins to make the day’s breakfast.

“[For] breakfast, usually, I make it for two days,” Castillo said.  “I leave it prepped and ready so that in the morning I can just continue and [finish it].” 

When making lunch, she always tries to start preparing it at least one day in advance. 

“[We do this] because if we cook it the same day, it won’t be ready,” Castillo said.

Since the menu changes constantly, there are some things that are harder to make while others are easier. If the food she is making is too complex, Castillo needs one of her coworkers to help her with it.

An example of said food would be enchiladas. When making them, Castillo has to prepare everything from the sauce to the meat, which can take a while. On the other hand, nachos are her favorite thing to make.  

“We have been making [nachos] since I started working here,” Castillo said. “It’s easier for me since I’ve been making them for years.”

Maria’s Story:

On the other side of the cafeteria, Maria Gonzales works hard every single day to keep the salad bar open and ready to serve. 

Ever since Gonzales moved to the United States from Aguascalientes, Mexico, she’s always dreamt of working at a school. While taking her daughters to school, she thought of the idea of working in a school cafeteria.

“I used to see the workers and tell myself- it would be nice to someday work in a cafeteria,” Gonzales said. 

The opportunity to work in a cafeteria presented itself to her in her previous job in Chick-fil-A when one of her coworkers started delivering sandwiches to the high school. After finding out there was a position available as a cafeteria worker at the school, Gonzales applied for the job and got in.

“I always say this job was sent by God since I always asked for a change,” Gonzales said. 

Even though she usually works behind the salad bar at the cafeteria, Gonzales always looks forward to the times that she works behind the counter. 

“Even though I don’t know English very well, I still like greeting the children,” Gonzales said. “It’s really wonderful.”

On some weeks, apart from her job running the salad bar, Gonzales and the rest of the cafeteria staff get assigned to clean certain things, like the bathrooms. 

“That, I think, is the hardest part,” Gonzales said, “[but] I believe nothing is difficult as long as you do it with love.”