Cabell County Schools food-service staff say they start as early as 5 a.m. to cover absences and feed students

A staff member in food service for Cabell County Schools told a meeting that food-service employees often begin work very early to cover absences and meet student needs.

“We start our day in food service really early. We start at I report at 6AM, but there are some days that we are starting really at 5AM because we're up looking at the absences report, make sure that we have enough staff in our kitchens,” the staff member said. The employee added that duties extend beyond breakfast and lunch to other programs and year-round efforts to address student food needs.

The staff member said teamwork drives the department’s response to staffing challenges. “So our department works really well together. Even our administrator, Travis Austin, he jumps right in and he's right in the thick of it with us,” the staff member said, adding that cooks are “on the front line” and sometimes face stressful days. The employee described the work culture as supportive: “They are a great group of people that work really, really hard. I love my coworkers and really, I would consider us more like family than coworkers.”

The staff member also said food insecurity exists in the area and that the district runs multiple programs to address it. “That's not just during the school year, not just breakfast and lunch. We have a lot of different programs. You don't like to think that there's food insecurities in this area, but they definitely exist,” the staff member said.

The remarks described operational details the staff uses to cover meals, including monitoring an absences report each morning and adjusting staffing so kitchens can operate. No formal action, motion or vote related to food-service staffing or programs was recorded in the meeting transcript provided.