MILFORD, Del. - May 6th, 2022Â is U.S. School Lunch Hero Day, which is recognized the first Friday of May each year. The day caps off Teacher Appreciation Week and is held to recognize the hard work of cafeteria staff in schools everywhere that often goes unrecognized.
In honor of the day, the school lunch heroes at E.I. Morris Early Childhood Center in Milford were presented with a proclamation from Sussex County.
Sussex County District 3 Councilman Mark Schaeffer and District 2 Councilwoman Cindy Green helped read and deliver the proclamation.
Sussex County Clerk of the peace Jay Jones says through volunteering alongside of the cafeteria staff there, he has seen how much work goes into meeting the needs of every child to ensure they don't go hungry and decided to give the staff this award.
"People don't realize that with cafeteria staff, they're serving many classrooms at many times, filling the cafeteria as the kids come and go in a short time manner, assisting the kids and also feeding them nutritious lunches and getting them in and out every day, so the hard work that they're putting in, we just want to recognize them today on their special day," Jones says.
Laura Nailor has been Cafeteria Manger for 28 years and says this award was unexpected.
"Making sure that the get fed and are meeting needs," Nailor says. "Some of them have special needs that they need and sometimes they just need a little hug or I'm thinking about you or they'll tell us that they love us."
Nailor says they serve 270 students in pre-k and kindergarten. Principal Jennifer Hallman says the school lunch team is the engine that keeps the school running and that the school as a whole is proud of them.