Bloomsburg's college meal plan—you get so much more than you pay for. No, we are not talking about the food—we all know that's the biggest rip-off of them all. We are talking about bonds you form with the lunch ladies.
Whether you're rushing to grab a quick bite between classes, or grabbing a coffee to cram for an exam, most of you visit the food services on campus several times a day. Whether you choose the Commons, the Husky, Rongo's, or Monty's, you are welcomed by the smiling ladies who serve you food and swipe your IDs every day.
"They all seem really nice," said Mike Gotto, who often grabs a bite to eat at the Husky Lounge. Like most students, Gotto is aware of a lunch lady's job.
"The lunch ladies do a lot of work," said Kyle Dewalt, a CA in Elwell, "and they probably don't get paid that much."
Even though they are forced to stand on their feet all day, swipe IDs, serve meals, deal with hundreds of students, and leave at the end of the day reeking of grease, the ladies under the hairnets still provides service with a smile.
Juinita is just one of the lunch ladies who service the students on a daily basis. She works in the Scranton Commons and has several job duties throughout the day. In the mornings, she helps set up and serve breakfast. When breakfast is over, Juinita's job consists of cleaning the breakfast line, refilling the cereals, and preparing for lunch. She prepares the cheese trays and sets out the condiments and by the afternoon, she makes her way to the dessert line, where she brings desserts up from the bakery and proceeds to make dishes of pudding and jello and the student's all-time-favorite— cookies! While her day is often tiring and stressful, she always serves with a smile on her face.
"It's my job, and I have no problem with the kids. They always smile and thank me," she said.
For most of the lunch ladies, interacting with the students is the best part of the job. They get to meet different students every day, and it is a nice way to help their day go quicker.
"I like talking to the students," said Juinita. "A lot of them are regulars and I know their names and faces and where [on campus] they live."
Lunch ladies like Juinita make dining at the campus food services a memorable experience and several students have personal accounts of stories and laughs they have shared with the lunch ladies on campus.
One student, who wished to remain anonymous due to his own person clumsiness, said, "One time I fell coming up the stairs and the one who swipes your card said ‘Are ya alright there? Watch out, those steps are tricky!"
Due to the kindness of the ladies who work on campus, it is easy for students to befriend them. When the food services are busy, a simple hello will do, but when the lines are low, students engage in full-out conversation with the staff. Some students even catch up with their favorite lunch ladies when they are outside on their break having a smoke. Students can even find their favorite lunch lady after leaving campus.
The BU students love their lunch ladies so much that there are even Facebook groups dedicated to Bloomsburg's finest. "We Love The Bloomsburg Pasta Lady," which has 398 members, and "We Love Barb, The Bloomsburg The Commons Meal Swipe Lady," which has 670 members, are the most popular of the groups. On the group walls, students celebrate Ada's fine pasta-cooking skills and Barb's fast ID-swiping abilities.
When you look at the lady under the hairnet, you realize that the lunch ladies are real people and each of the lunch ladies have qualities that stand out. Whether you recognize them for their super sweetness, or for making you laugh so hard that you shoot soda out of your nose, cherish the times you share. These memories will surely stand out for years to come and they might just be what bring you back to BU years after you graduate.
Bloomsburg's college meal plan—you get so much more than you pay for. No, we are not talking about the food—we all know that's the biggest rip-off of them all. We are talking about bonds you form with the lunch ladies.
Whether you're rushing to grab a quick bite between classes or grabbing a coffee to cram for an exam, most of you visit the food services on campus several times a day. Whether you choose the Commons, the Husky, Rongo's, or Monty's, you are welcomed by the smiling ladies who serve you food and swipe your IDs every day.
"They all seem really nice," said Mike Gotto, who often grabs a bite to eat at the Husky Lounge. Like most students, Gotto is aware of a lunch lady's job.
"The lunch ladies do a lot of work," said Kyle Dewalt, a CA in Elwell, "and they probably don't get paid that much."
Even though they are forced to stand on their feet all day, swipe IDs, serve meals, deal with hundreds of students, and leave at the end of the day reeking of grease, the ladies under the hairnets still provides service with a smile.
Juinita is just one of the lunch ladies who service the students on a daily basis. She works in the Scranton Commons and has several job duties throughout the day. In the mornings, she helps set up and serve breakfast. When breakfast is over, Juinita's job consists of cleaning the breakfast line, refilling the cereals, and preparing for lunch. She prepares the cheese trays, sets out the condiments and by the afternoon, she makes her way to the dessert line, where she brings desserts up from the bakery and proceeds to make dishes of pudding and jello and the student's all-time-favorite— cookies! While her day is often tiring and stressful, she always serves with a smile on her face.
"It's my job, and I have no problem with the kids. They always smile and thank me," she said.
For most of the lunch ladies, interacting with the students is the best part of the job. They get to meet different students every day, and it is a nice way to help their day go quicker.
I like talking to the students," said Juinita. "A lot of them are regulars and I know their names and faces and where [on campus] they live."
Lunch ladies like Juinita make dining at the campus food services a memorable experience and several students have personal accounts of stories and laughs they have shared with the ladies.
One student, who wished to remain anonymous due to his own personal clumsiness, said, "One time I fell coming up the stairs and the one who swipes your card said ‘Are ya alright there? Watch out, those steps are tricky!'"
Due to the kindness of the ladies who work on campus, it is easy for students to befriend them.
When the food services are busy, a simple hello will do, but when the lines are low, students engage in full-out conversation with the staff. Some students even catch up with their favorite lunch ladies when they are outside on their break having a smoke. Students can even find their favorite lunch lady after leaving campus.
The BU students love their lunch ladies so much that there are even Facebook groups dedicated to Bloomsburg's finest.
"We Love The Bloomsburg Pasta Lady," which has 398 members, and "We Love Barb, The Bloomsburg The Commons Meal Swipe Lady," which has 670 members, are the most popular of the groups. On the group walls, students celebrate Ada's fine pasta-cooking skills and Barb's fast ID-swiping abilities.
When you look at the lady under the hairnet, you realize that the lunch ladies are real people and each of them have qualities that stand out.
Whether you recognize them for their super sweetness, or for their humor and how they make you laugh so hard that you shoot soda out of your nose, cherish the times you share. These memories will surely stand out for years to come and they might just be what bring you back to BU years after you graduate.
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