Noah Merrell
Reporting Student
Have you ever wondered what it takes to feed the entire student body? Butler cafeteria employees take serving their guests seriously spending hours working to plan meals for the student body to try and fit everyone’s personal taste. The task starts with planning for three weeks in advance.
This means looking at everything from portion sizes to an estimated amount of how much food will actually be eaten. The cafeteria may be “all you can eat,” but the staff still paces the student body by giving them specific serving sizes. This not only helps the students not bite off more than they can chew, but also helps ensure everyone gets some of those chicken nuggets. Of course, this does not mean they will not be expecting you to get seconds.
“Our number one goal is to make sure the students are taken care of,” Food Service Director Jan Stitt said.
Many students say that one thing they miss when they moved onto the campus was dinner with their families.
Stitt understands that feeling homesick comes with moving out to start your college career. She and her staff take that into consideration when planning out the meals for the school.
“We try to have a home cooked meal to make sure they are getting all their vitamins and nutritional value,” Stitt said.
Understanding that a home cooked meal can mean something different for every student, Stitt encourages them to share with the food service what food reminds them of their dinner table.
“We really like to hear from the students,” Stitt said.
The cafeteria is always looking for ways to incorporate the taste of home into a student’s school lunch by trying out recipes provided by the students even sometimes having students cook those recipes.
“Let’s say you think your mom has the best recipe for beef stew,” Stitt said. “Bring that recipe in and let’s see if we can figure it out.”
Stitt believes that what the students should feel comfortable with the food they are eating and tries to make everything seem like it came right out of their mother’s kitchen.
that’s why she likes to recieve recipes from students.
“This way students are eating something home cooked that they are familiar with,” Stitt said.
Many students are unaware of the open policy the cafeteria has with students and thinks it is a great idea.
“I think that is so cool,” freshman Jaeden Cooper said. “I had no idea that you could just show them a recipe from home, and they would try to make it.”
Many students end up changing schools just so they can be closer to home. Going into the new school year, the cafeteria employees worked diligently to make sure their food was not only ready, but that it was something students could be excited to eat.
“The ideas of the food are definitely in the right place,” Cooper said. “I was surprised when I saw they were cooking meals that they do here because I could not deal with high school lunches. I feel like some of the execution is not as great, but it is great considering the amount of people they are cooking for.”
Most students love the variety they have to choose from and think the meals are a big step up from cafeteria food they have had in the past.
“I think it is awesome how many different food options there are, and I may not live too far from home, but the food is really like a home cooked meal,” freshman Austin Antoldi said.
With different diets becoming more trendy for millennials to live strictly by, the cafeteria offers plenty of options so that students with dietary constraints have choices.
“I did not worry about eating out as much when I moved here because I am big on saving money,” Cooper said. “But I was worried about how much I would be able to eat because I am a pescatarian, but they are very good about giving lots of options for even vegetarians.
Students say that because of the cafeteria, they have been able to avoid eating a lot of fast food.
“I moved out of my house my senior year of high school, so I usually ate out not really having the time to cook for myself,” Antoldi said. “But I now eat at the cafeteria a few times a week, and I feel like I am eating a little better.
