The women who cook school meals from ingredients provided by Feed the Hungry are essential to the success of our programs. They prepare and serve thousands of hot meals every school day, wash thousands of dishes, and maintain the kitchens.
In most of the 34 communities where we operate a school kitchen, cooks are hired, trained, and paid a year-round salary and benefits, while in the remaining kitchens the cooking and serving is done by a small group of mothers who volunteer. Both salaried and volunteer cooks get hands-on instruction on preparing a variety of healthy, balanced school meals from seasonal menus developed by our nutritionists.
Myrna Ramirez, from the community of Marroquin de Abajo, has been a school cook for five years. She enjoys the job and the children that she serves. “I like to cook for them and get to know them. I treat them like they are my own children,” said Myrna.