Teachers get treated with “food love”

By Jelena Sanchez

KONK LIFE STUDENT WRITER

Irma has passed, but its damage lives on. Schools especially went through a frenzy while trying to make up for all the lost class time. Some of the students at the Key West High School (KWHS) struggled to recover after the unexpected chaos, but a good solution for one way to ease the stress off of students was to provide free lunch for them until November 30th.

Obviously, while some of the students could use assistance, so could some of the staff members. Several teachers were forced to either permanently leave the Keys, or stay and deal with the stress of trying to work around damaged homes and the skewed annual agenda.

Luckily, KWHS culinary instructor Lisa Rivard collaborated with her students to provide the staff with delicious free meals. “I decided to treat the staff to chicken noodle soup and cornbread the day we came back to school after the evacuation. The administrators thought it was a great idea and asked me to continue until at least Thanksgiving break and perhaps a few days after that.” Rivard states, “I want to use my talents to help people during this difficult time.”

This culinary teacher has always been adamant about giving her students the experience they need to cook for businesses in the real world. According to James Nguyen, one of Rivard’s top students, “It’s not just about learning how to cook, it’s about learning how to make a career out of cooking. Like, the safety precautions of a restaurant, and how to serve people.” Rivard says that the collaboration is a great way to “learn how to be adaptable and work under pressure.”

Serving such a large crowd (up to 60 or more people) for an extended period of time has without a doubt been expensive and demanding. Nevertheless, the students work together to think of easy lunch ideas. While they continue to look for ideas for the staff meals, Rivard says that help through donations would be welcome as well. Currently school administration has stepped up by finding money to pay for the meals through internal accounts and donations, such as from the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.

It’s been difficult, but this culinary teacher is up for the challenge. Rivard says, “Food is love, so if I can prepare a nice meal and make someone feel loved, then I’m happy to do it.”

If you would like to donate towards this worthy culinary cause, you may do so by contacting Rivard via email at: [email protected].

 

Photo: Jelena Sanchez

SERVED WITH LOVE: Key West High School culinary arts teacher Lisa Rivard (left) and student James Nyugen (right) serve free hot meals to staff members on November 7.

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