The women who work in Ottumwa Community School District kitchens are recognized for their contributions during American Education Week. And at Ottumwa High School, they operate one of the busiest kitchens in town!
For approximately 180 student attendance days each year, 17 kitchen staff work as a close-knit team to prepare 2,700 meals for the high school and all elementary schools.
Tomorrow they will serve their annual Thanksgiving meal, featuring roast turkey, dinner roll, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and a fresh apple. “It takes a while to fix a Thanksgiving dinner for that many students,” said Melissa Jackson, head cook. Jackson has been in the district kitchen for 18 years.
Jackson begins her day at 5:30 a.m. Meals are prepared in shifts, with all elementary meals ready to be delivered by 9:30 a.m. each day. Then the same meal is prepared for high school students. “My people are busy,” she said. Two people wash dishes, and then there are people responsible for vegetables, fruit, the main entrée, and a baker who does all the potatoes and desserts.
In recent years, healthy food initiatives have changed what they serve and how it’s prepared. Dessert is only served three times a month now, and all breads are whole grain. But several entrees are still made from scratch, including most pasta/noodle dishes, holiday turkey dinners, and chili soup. The top two menus include French toast and pizza. Pizza slipped to the number two spot after chocolate cake was eliminated from that day’s menu.
Menu items rotate each month. Pizza is usually served on Tuesday. Chicken on Monday, including patties, nuggets, strips, and orange chicken. And students like sandwiches. “Anything on a bun they will eat,” said Becky Stout, kitchen manager. Stout loves the variety of things she does each day. “I’m learning new things all the time,” she said. “We are so busy up here but I love staying busy. It’s the best job in the world.”
Marcelin Bukowski has enjoyed her 28 years in the kitchen, most of those as the baker. “I haven’t baked a chocolate cake in years,” she said. “And I’d put it up against any food competition. When they took away peanut butter, that broke my heart.” She has several good peanut butter recipes that now just sit in the box collecting dust.
The cooks don’t just prepare and serve meals but also support the students they serve. Instead of exchanging holiday gifts, they pool their money to support a student need. Last year it was uniform bags for the JROTC program. The previous year they wrote a check to the band program to help with the Hawaii trip.
“We serve pretty nice kids,” said Jackson. “If you are nice to them, they are nice to you.”
