Statement of Ms. Geraldine Ray, Louisiana food-service worker, at the USDA listening session in Austin, Texas. July 15, 2008.

My name is Geraldine Ray and I am here on behalf of the New Orleans Public Schools food service workers and the Campaign for Quality Services.

The campaign is a joint project of the Service Employees International Union and UNITE-HERE. Together, our unions represent more than 2 million families in the United States.

Across the country our two unions also collectively represent more than ten thousand food service workers in school cafeterias. Many of us are parents of public school children - and all of us are taxpayers.

We work with communities across the country to raise standards in school cafeterias.

We are here today to call for a greater investment in child nutrition programs. We are also here to make clear that food service workers care about nutrition and have an important role to play in improving school meal programs

I am the cook at Hynes Elementary School in New Orleans, we serve over 700 students every day. Our job is to serve healthy meals to children.

I like everything about working in a school cafeteria. I like cooking for students, I like being with kids. I like it when they like what I make, and when they eat it and come back to tell me how good it was.

We follow recipes but I try to season things up so the kids will eat it - I know what they will and won't eat. If the food is not seasoned right, these kids are not going to eat.

For some of the students, what we serve may be the only balanced meals they eat during the day. The teachers say that some of the children don't have access to healthy meals outside of school.

We try to give them things they really like that are also healthy - we don't fry chicken, we only bake it. We have vegetables and fruit with every meal and we serve wheat bread.

We do our best but I believe more needs to be done.

More money is needed so we can serve healthier meals. Everybody knows processed foods that are high in sugar and fat can contribute to diabetes and obesity. These foods are often cheaper but they are not healthy. The $2.47 per meal the federal government now pays to subsidize free school lunches is not enough. We need to invest in fresher, healthier food and we think the current reimbursement rate is too low and needs to be raised by at least fifty cents per meal.

I think one of the biggest challenges facing New Orleans' cafeteria workers is that we are under-staffed. In my school, there is no other cook so I have to be there every day. In some cafeterias, workers are making meals for two schools - their own and another school that might not have kitchen facilities after Katrina. It's a challenge to make enough food for both schools.

We also don't have sick days. It's hard if someone is sick or if a personal issue comes up. Doctors' offices aren't open on weekends in most places. It would be good if we had sick time so people wouldn't have to feel like they have to come in if they're not well.

Some of our kids are real big and I feel we should have more fat free meals to serve those children. There is one child who comes through my cafeteria, I found out he has diabetes, he's only 11. There are only certain foods he can eat. He has to bring his lunch every day and can only order the salads from the cafeteria at lunch time. I think it would be good if we could learn more about how to serve special foods so we can serve the students who can't eat the regular meals.

I also think that if we had the tools and the right training, we would be able to help promote better nutrition and to help identify children at risk of obesity related illnesses like diabetes. Then we could better support parents and teachers in helping improve these children's eating habits.

I have 14 years experience preparing food. Even with all my years working with food, I can use some more training - we all can, even the managers. I don't know anyone who knows everything, I learn something every day. Everybody needs to be trained. With a greater emphasis on training we would be better equipped to handle the serious food safety risks we face every day.

If parents, workers, students, administrators and the community work together, we can create a meal program that meets high standards for nutrition and creates a solid foundation for learning. Our children deserve no less. Thank-you.