Barbara Spring has worked behind the scenes every day for about 30 years making sure students are fed with plenty of tasty options during lunch.
Spring is retiring from her role as middle school kitchen manager at the end of the school year and knows it’ll be a hard goodbye.
She’s created a home at the middle school, she said. One full of lunches that make kids happy with foods they look forward to.
Spring started in 1991 and has since worked in every kitchen in the district. For almost three decades, she’s worked at the middle school.
Checking out students during lunchtime is her favorite part and what she will miss most. The middle schoolers have always expressed gratitude for their lunches, writing her notes during teacher appreciation week and saying thank you in the check-out line. Though it is a fast-paced atmosphere, she makes time to give each student a smile.
Spring came to the district after running a day care, and knew she wanted to work around kids, but she had no food service experience. She’s worked in every part of the kitchen, from baking, to main dish and eventually kitchen manager.
She’s lived in Eudora most of her life, and agreed the schools are an important part of what makes it feel like home. She never once considered leaving the district because it just always felt like the place for her, she said.
“I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. I love Eudora,” she said.
Her days start with cooking breakfast sandwiches, French toast sticks and whatever else is on the menu for students to eat when they arrive at school. She works on reports then prepares for lunch.
Then she runs the register and cleans up the line between grade levels. After the last grade eats, she works on reports again. She also works throughout the day to do the planning and ordering for future meals. The inventory truck comes on Wednesdays so she unpacks and puts away the food.
Her office is covered in notes from students that say things like “thanks for making us good food,” and remind her that her job makes a difference in a child’s day.
One of her favorite stories from her time at middle school is when a student kept bringing back his food saying that there was a hair in it. It started happening day after day, after day. Spring started to get suspicious, and wondered if there was a correlation between the student’s favorite meals and claiming there was hair in it.
She decided to tell the student he would need to fill out an incident form each time it happened, but to no surprise, he never made the claim again.
When the middle school used to serve as the production kitchen for the whole district, she remembers having to do the math to make recipes for hundreds of students.
She remembers the giant pots they used to use to make chilis, soups and other main dishes. The pots were so big the crew would have to stand on ladders to stir them.
Over the last 30 years, she’s been able to help improve the lunch options, making it possible for more a la carte options like cookies, ice cream, other snacks and drinks. This now makes a significant difference in the kitchen’s finances, she said.
But the one thing she’ll miss most is her crew.
“I’m gonna miss my people that I work with and all the staff because they’re just so friendly, and Jeremy Thomas is the best,” Spring said.
She’s grown close with Sue Cooper, who also runs the cashier during lunchtime and helps out in the kitchen. The two can be found chatting and giggling together during the lulls in checking out students.
Cooper has been at the middle school for about 13 years. When asked how she feels about Spring’s retirement, she said, “Well, I hate it for me, but I love it for her.”
She said she confides in Spring and will miss the chit chat about their kids and grandkids.
Cooper said Spring is always in a good mood and is great at training new staff, so she will be missed in the role.
It helps pass time when you have a friend at the register right across from you, Cooper said. Spring deserves to retire after a long time in the district, though, she said.
The supportive atmosphere at the middle school is something Spring has grown to cherish.
“Once I was here, I was just stuck here,” Spring said. “It’s just a great community. Everybody kind of works together and makes you feel at home and it’s just a great atmosphere.”
When the kitchen experienced more turnover around COVID-19, Principal Jeremy Thomas and School Resource Officer Caleb Lewis were more than willing to jump into the kitchen and help where they could, she said. Teachers oftentimes would offer help, too.
Thomas said during his seven years in the district, she’s always been a constant. She’s always done as much as she can to bring in as many extra options for students as she can within the guidelines, he said. It’s made a huge difference in making students happy, he said.
Students have grown to love the lunches, and when fifth graders come to the middle school their favorite part is the lunch options, Thomas said. She’s worked with the nutrition services director to make ice cream and a la carte options available, even to the surprise of other districts, he said.
“She’s gonna be missed. She just does so many things for our kids and our staff, but I’m also excited to see her move on,” Thomas said.
She looks forward to having more time to spend with her six grandchildren and attend their sporting events. Spring lives several miles south of Eudora and never sees herself and her husband leaving the area. Her husband farms about 1,900 acres, many of which are hay and then some cattle.
She said she looks forward to just enjoying her time off, and isn’t committing herself to anything right now, but you may see Spring subbing in the future.
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected]
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