Cafeteria Servers

• Make sure your contact information is correct in VSP.  VSP generates automatic email reminders before your shift and a text reminder 2 hours before your shift. If you are not receiving these reminders, check your VSP settings and check your email spam folder. Add the VSP reminder email address to your contacts and add uppta.cafeteria@gmail.com to your contacts. 

• Be on time and stay for the entire shift (10:45 a.m. - 1 p.m.) – The first and last students through the line NEED you and so do your fellow volunteers.  If you are late, the lunch service gets backed up for the day, and we scramble to get volunteers to fill in for you.  This job is so much easier when everyone is there ready to work. Staying for your entire shift allows all children to be properly fed with the same love and attention as the children earlier in the day. Mrs. Tonia will communicate instructions at the beginning of the shift for serving portions, not to be missed.  Contact your shift’s team members if you are going to be late or have to leave early.  Contact a friend to help you cover your shift. 

• Please find a sub when you are unable to work.  It is your responsibility not only to request a sub but also to make sure your shift is covered.  See the instructions for Finding a Sub for your Shift. We will do our best to improve the availability of rosters and sub lists.

• When you arrive for your shift, check-in to the VSP terminal at the cashier station.  This is different from the volunteer sign in at the front office.  

• Use the lockers to store your personal belongings, tie your hair back, grab a hat and apron.  Hats are required by the health code (you are welcome to bring your own hat). You must wear closed-toe shoes. Wash your hands and put on a pair of gloves.

• No eating behind the line, in the kitchen, or while serving. We encourage you to stay and enjoy lunch after serving and visit with your fellow volunteers.  

• No children allowed behind the serving line at any time.  

• You may leave the serving line to visit your child at their lunch table.  Please keep these visits short and sweet.  When you return from the visit, please wash your hands and grab a new pair of gloves.

• If you need to check your phone or make a call, remove your gloves.  When you are done with your phone, wash your hands and put on fresh gloves. Do not touch your phone with gloves on and then continue to serve.

• There are an A line and a B line for service. Each side will be marked on the wall behind the serving area.  We have posted on the wall, the scheduled arrivals by grade and teacher. Many parents like to serve their children lunch so they will work on the line their child’s class will use. Also posted on the wall are the lunch menus.  

• Each side has a fridge and warmers.  The fridge stores the fruit portions and extras of other cold items.  The warmers have trays of the hot lunch items.  

• There are three servers assigned per line (A and B). Two servers manage serving the hot items on the tray. The third server displays the fruit, replenishes all cold items, and assist getting trays out to the children. 

• Check the serving area for all required food items and serving utensils. 

• Mrs. Tonia will show you the correct hot lunch portion size for grades K to 1st, and 2nd to 4th.  Please follow the guidelines for students throughout the entire lunch service. If you give more, we may run low on food for the later classes. **Teachers are to receive generous portions. Ms. Tonia will also let you know if there is a special meal prepared for students with health restrictions.  

• Do not show preferential treatment to any children (serve larger portions, give them chips or ice-cream, etc). 
• Kinder and 1st –  Are served a set menu with no (or limited) substitutions. Each morning, the teachers will send their lunch counts in advance of the lunch service. The counts for cold lunch and hot lunch by class will be posted on the wall behind the serving area.  Before the class comes through, check the counts of cold and hot lunches for each class and beginning preparing the trays, adding the fruit portion to cold trays. Children that have chosen the cold lunch will be at the beginning of their class line and hot lunch children will follow.  
• Sometimes a few kiddos will change their mind at the last minute...that is okay.  Keep an eye on your cold lunch numbers remaining and if you are running low, let Ms. Tonia or the cafeteria staff know immediately.

• If you are starting to run low of hot food items to be served, check the warmers behind you for the replacement tray.  If the replacement is not ready, immediately alert the cafeteria staff before you run out of food.  

• Please exercise care in removing the empty hot tray from the serving counter and replacing it with the new tray of food from the warmer.  All the trays are very hot!  High heat steam keeps the food warm in the serving area so beware of steam burns.

• All grades may purchase seconds of entrees, sandwiches, vegetables, fruit, cheese, yogurt, and drinks. No seconds on chips or ice cream.

• No exchanges or variations on the set lunch (K and 1st) other than plain swapping a PB for PB&J, and swapping PB/PB&J for turkey sandwiches. Exceptions may be made for students who are vegetarian or have allergies.

• On Fridays only, kindergartners and 1st graders lunches include ice cream. Servers need to put the ice-creams out for the kids on Fridays.  

• Kindergartners and 1st graders may purchase drinks from the drink/snack line. They are not allowed to buy chips. Ice-cream is available for sale on Fridays (for those who brought their lunch). 

• Second, 3rd and 4th-grade students can buy ice-cream on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from the snack line.  

• When there is about 10 min left in the last group of lunch served, we leave out boats and styrofoam containers of seconds for the children to take and quickly charge to their account.  

• When the lunch service is complete, enjoy lunch with your volunteer team.  Offer to make a tray of food for mainline and ice-cream cashiers (they generally work longer).

• Remove your hat and apron, place these in the laundry room for washing. Don’t forget to remove your personal items from the lockers before you leave.

• If you would like to receive sub requests from cashiers, please update your VSP profile job preferences and mark sub for cashiers.  You are already set up to sub for other servers. You may consider subbing for grandparent and dad servers.  

Enjoy your time getting to know other parents and watching the kiddos grow throughout out the year!  

Cafeteria Server Coordinator - Molly New at molly.j.new@icloud.com

Thank you for serving in the UP Cafeteria!