Kent City — Katie Mitchell was walking past the Kent City Elementary lunch room when a table of students, happily munching on mini corn dogs, gasped as they saw her.
“Where have you been?” one student exclaimed, jumping up to give her a hug.
Mitchell explained that her office had moved to the middle school, and his face fell.
“You’re not our lunch lady anymore?” he asked.
“Well, now I’m kind of in charge of all the lunch ladies,” she explained. “But I can still come to see you!”
After more than a decade in food service with the district, including the past five years as elementary head cook, Mitchell is Kent City Community Schools’ new food service supervisor. She described the work as “overseeing the kitchens,” but when pressed, admitted there’s much more to the job.
‘Food is a love language … If I know you have a full belly, I can feel good about letting you walk out the door or go on with your day.’
— Food Service Supervisor Katie Mitchell
“You’re making sure they’re following all the right steps and procedures to properly prepare the food and have a clean, well-run kitchen,” she said. “You’re making sure we’re ordering all the right food. There’s a lot of administrative pieces, and also making sure all the government rules and regulations are being followed. And there’s the people aspect — making sure they all have what they need individually, and also that they’re working together well as a team.
“It’s a big honor (to take this job), because I am being trusted with a lot, but I always like a new challenge. Right now, there are times when I feel like my brain is breaking, with all the things I am thinking about, but it’s super exciting.”
We spoke with Mitchell about the changes she’s seen in food service over the years, her goals for the next few years and the unsung heroes who provide nourishing food to kids each day in Kent City. The heroes she oversees include a dozen regular staff members and half a dozen subs ready to step in when needed.
Other positions you’ve held in education: Mitchell started as a custodian in Forest Hills and then moved into food service. She was drawn to Kent City “because I live across the street” and appreciated the district’s summer food program when her children were young. Her first position in Kent City was a kitchen assistant at the high school before switching to the elementary school and then becoming head cook.
What is it about food service that speaks to you? “Food is a love language, whether it’s feeding my own soul or knowing that someone else is fed. Like, if I know you have a full belly, I can feel good about letting you walk out the door or go on with your day. It’s just always been something that meant something to me, to be able to feed someone.”
What would you like to share about your family? Mitchell’s son is a Kent City graduate and her daughter is in 10th grade.
“They’re all wonderful and have the biggest hearts I’ve ever seen. They would help anybody. We’re at a hard point where my son is moving and my daughter’s growing up, but we really like to be together as a family.”
What is something you’re proud of in the food service department and want to keep building? “All of the lunch ladies, everyone on our team cares about the kids. They care about their nutrition. They care that quality food is available to them. They’re not just coming here to do a job. They notice things and watch out for needs. Like, ‘This kid always asks for seconds — maybe they’re in need.’ And they ask how we can fill that need. They really take their job to heart, and it’s because of the students.”
Mitchell also noted her team’s ability and willingness to work with students on menu requests and changes, such as the elementary student council’s request for a salad bar.
“Listening to the kids is something I think we’re good at, and that I’m proud of. We’re still working on bringing in more fresh produce (for the salad bar). And there’s a kid at the middle school now who’s been asking for Crispitos for years, and now we’re testing that out and I think we’re going to be able to bring it to the menu. I always like to see new things and try to work with those requests.”
How has school food service changed during your career? “I’d say since (the pandemic) pretty much everything has changed in some way. COVID was a big eye-opener in terms of sanitation awareness, and now we have more practices that we’ve put into place or are more aware of for sanitation purposes.
“The government regulations have changed and these little increments are always changing — they want less added sugar, more whole grain, less salt. One of the newer things is that we have to make sure we buy American,” she said, referencing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Buy American Provision which requires schools to purchase domestic food as much as possible and places a percentage limit on foreign-sourced commercial food items.
“It can be overwhelming to track all the changes, or keep track of when the food companies have changed their product formulation, or determine that we can’t keep carrying a product because it doesn’t meet the specifications anymore. But then we get to explore other options that we can make available and find out what else the kids would like.”
What is on your bucket list? “I’ve always wanted to learn how to drive a semi-truck. It always just seemed interesting to me, to learn how and then to say I did it.
“Also, I really want to go to Dollywood and ride (steam locomotive) Klondike Katie.”
What goals have you set for yourself in this new role? “Next year, I want to work on ‘farm to table.’ I want to bring in local produce and be able to tell (students), ‘This came from Grandville,’ or name the local farm where this apple was grown. There’s programs that will give you incentives for it. … It’s a way to expose them to everything that’s available nearby and all the healthy choices that you have.
“Personally, I want to be able to leave the laptop at work as much as I can. I will bring it home on occasion … but the goal is to shut down work and go home to my family.”
If you could have a superpower, what would it be? “I’d want to be able to fly. Birds are very majestic, and can you imagine that feeling, just to be floating on the wind?”
What is the most rewarding part of what you do? “If I can have any insight that can make things better or easier for (the lunch crew), that’s always rewarding. Helping them accomplish a task, run something more efficiently — sometimes, you can see it click on their face as they recognize a solution (or) see how something will work. I see that and then I’m like, ‘OK, I’m here for a purpose.’”
Read more from Kent City:
• ‘A flashpoint for everything’: Teaching 9/11, 25 years later
• Middle-schoolers learn skills for life
