Summary Of Back To School Message: Exciting Changes In Cafeteria

NEW YORK- Before many rise from their slumbers, it is 8am and cafeteria workers are already busy chopping vegetables and preparing meals for the lunch hour rush. These men and women in uniform work around the clock to provide food for the hungry but are often times mindlessly lumped together as faceless lunch ladies hustling behind the counter.
But Pauline Joseph, who recalls growing up in Guyana where her mom would always have fresh milk directly from their cow and her father worked as a butcher, is far from a stereotypical lunch lady and has a unique story to tell if given a voice.
Cafeteria workers of the Grace Church School on 4th avenue between East 10th and East 12th streets, like Joseph, are part of a minority across the country that
CNS news publishes “Mrs. Obama’s Back to School Message: ‘Exciting Changes’ in Cafeteria” by Elizabeth Harrington that opens with, “First Lady Michelle Obama delivered a back to school message for children to inform them of the ‘exciting changes’ to their lunchrooms this year, thanks to federally mandated healthy food choices now in effect.” It is clear that the news story is about a politically funded cause and not about the people working to adapt to the new rules. Harrington then cites a statement from a video message where Michelle Obama says, “Starting this year, the talented people who cook the food at your school will be offering all kinds of healthy, delicious new choices.” Here, the article indirectly mentions the efforts of cafeteria workers. However, Harrington’s intent is not clear, as it is again, a quotation from Michelle Obama, the focal point of the piece, alluding to the work of cafeteria workers without specifically mentioning them. The article continues as coverage of Mrs. Obama’s statements without mentioning or interviewing cafeteria workers: those responsible for carrying out the actions of the First Lady’s