Many of you may recognize Kristi Scott. She is the first cook at McKinley-ALC. She’s been in the nutritional services department since 2007, and prior to McKinley, she was at Tech.
Scott loves working in the school district and loves the interaction with students. However, her first priority is food safety and preparation — and it shows.
Scott and her team have just been awarded the Health Safety Award from Stearns County. Each year, there is one school and one business recipient. The award is based off of a five-year performance review. Health inspection reports have to show no infractions, which means the kitchen is clean, the temperature logs are accurate and well-documented, and there are no complaints.
“I was very surprised [to win the award],” says Scott. “I didn’t even know it existed. It is a good morale booster for staff, and the school is extremely proud. The lunch ladies that go into this job, they’re really passionate about the kids and making sure they are fed. It’s a little more than just a job.”
A lot of work goes on behind the scenes. A typical day in Scott’s kitchen starts in the morning with a warm breakfast and a to-go breakfast. Once breakfast is complete, Scott and her team start working on the catering orders. McKinley is one of the few schools that cater to other schools for lunches. They provide lunches to the CO2 program, Roosevelt and Prince of Peace School. Once that is complete, the clean-up and prep start all over again preparing for lunch at McKinley.
However, Scott does like to change things up a bit for the students. She has recently added infused water as an optional drink for the students.
“I don’t drink milk and I noticed a lot of other kids are the same way, and kids need to increase their water intake,” says Scott.
Scott has been trying many different fruit combinations for her infused water.
“I’ll give you a tip,” says Scott. “The lemon and strawberry have been the biggest hit so far. It was all gone that day.”
Scott aims to please.
“I love those kids. I absolutely love being with them. ALC can get a bad rap, but we have good kids and staff. The kids are caring and wonderful.”
A little tidbit about Scott: when she isn’t spending her time with students at McKinley, she loves to be in and around water. She loves swimming and everything summer and water related.
Congratulations to Kristi and her team!
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