It is common knowledge to the students of JHS that the members and staff of our cafeteria make and prepare the food we eat each and every day for breakfast and lunch. Aside from preparing and making food for JHS alone, Food Services also provides for the other schools within District 117. Food Services provides food, breakfasts, and lunches to numerous schools and programs in hopes of giving a healthy and tasty lunch to students and faculty all throughout the district.
High schools that receive their food from JHS’s Food Services include Eisenhower, Franklin, Lincoln, North, South, and Washington. Other schools and programs that have their food prepared and made by JHS include such establishments as Turner Jr. High, Walnut Court/Early Years Program, 8 Points Charter, Garrison School/Four Rivers Special Education, and even such programs as the ESP and ARC at the Regional Office of Education (ROE) at Lafeyette.
Joyce Hiler, Food Services Director and employee at JHS for 23 years, gives detail to the process of not only preparing the food, but how the food is shipped out from the JHS cafeteria: “Meals are delivered each morning to all schools,” says Hiler “District 117 schools, 8 Points Charter and Garrison School receive the same menu. ROE programs receive the same menu as the JHS cafeteria.”
Nearly 2,000 meals are prepared each and every day within the JHS kitchen. Cold portions and items are made at 7:00 am. After this, hot portions for the following day are then packaged. Basis for how many portions to prepare depend upon past sales and popularity of items. “Some mornings we may have to prepare additional lunches,” Hiler stated “Some mornings we are over-packed.”
All schools receive their items cold, save for Walnut Court/Early Years lunches — who have their food heated at JHS prior to delivery — as well as ROE program lunches, which also have their lunches heated and kept within a warmer at JHS until the time of delivery. All other schools heat their own items at the given site.
ROE programs receive their food in bulk amounts similar to the meals sold in JHS’s Café, given in large pans and containers. All other schools are given individual lunches.
Shipping of meals is handled by Lunch Express trucks. These trucks make four deliveries each and every day. As well as lunches, breakfast items for the following day and after-school foods are delivered at the same time.