Diana Hulsey finds rewards when serving young children

Diana Hulsey is the School Nutrition Manager at Cherokee Elementary School.

Although she is the newest of the lunchroom managers, she has had decades of training for this position.

She said 12 years of experience in retail has provided her with the training needed for ordering, rotating, and managing stock. Additionally, 14 years in an office environment has provided her with necessary training for processing the paperwork involved with managing the lunchroom.

Hulsey has also worked with the public with both of these previous positions.

“This provided me valuable customer service experience,” she said.

According to Hulsey, she did not work with children in her previous positions.

However, she admits that students have proven to be the most enjoyable part of her job as a lunchroom manager. Some of the children are as young as age 4.

“During the month of August watching the new Pre-K students attempt the near impossible task of walking while balancing a tray full of food is adorable,” Hulsey said.

Students of all ages become excited when something new is added to the menu. However, the latest rollout of the Lunchbox Buddies has created an amount of excitement Hulsey has not seen before.

She explained that it could be similar to a group of “Black Friday” shoppers standing around a display of 32” flat screen televisions priced at an unbelievable low holiday price.

With that picture in mind you can now imagine the scene in the lunchroom serving line as the students are all bunched together, jumping up and down with arms outstretched attempting to secure a Lunchbox Buddy for themselves.

The prize these students are so excited to obtain is a bag containing all the nutritional components required by USDA for lunch consisting of yogurt, whole grain chips, cheese stick, whole grain crackers, apple slices, and milk and/or orange juice.

These students, your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and neighbors, make my day, Hulsey said.