LUNCH OUTDOORS

BROWN BAGS ON-THE-GO

Numerous unsung heroes helped Norfolk Academy remain on campus fulltime throughout the 2020–21 school year, staff who performed yeoman’s work behind the scenes. Among those heroes: The men and women in the Refectory.

In a typical year, the school’s tradition of familystyle meals, where students and faculty eat together, distributing food from serving bowls and sharing conversation around the table, creates an environment of fun and valuable bonding. But Covid-19 health and safety restrictions made the traditional approach impossible.

Instead, the Refectory staff packaged every meal individually in brown bags — 7,000 meals every week of the school year. Students picked up their meals and ate at spots around campus, from the Pit to the playgrounds, even on chilly days, only staying in their classrooms when the weather was truly awful.

For Meriwether Godsey, the company that provides meals daily to Academy’s approximately 1,200 students, Covid-19 posed a challenge and an opportunity to innovate without abandoning core values about healthy eating. Started in 1985, the company buys from local growers and providers as much as possible to reduce its carbon footprint and serve seasonal ingredients.

Christian Huynh ’03 oversees Meriwether Godsey at Norfolk Academy as director of dining services. He has worked in an array of roles in the food service industry, and he drew on that experience to continually innovate.

As the year was unfolding, Huynh explained exactly how his 16-member staff was completing the herculean task of feeding an entire campus while maintaining social distance and safety protocols — about 7,000 meals each week — 6,400 lunches, including about 70 for students with specific needs. Plus 600 breakfasts for faculty and staff. “It’s been about taking care of the community,” Huynh said. Even with the challenge of preparing and bagging thousands of meals each week, the staff maintained its focus on the nutritional needs of individuals. They prepared gluten-free offerings and meals for students with allergies; a vegetarian option was available every day.

Schedules were adjusted from the norm. Part of the Lower School ate about 11:15 a.m., with the rest of the Lower School closer to noon. Middle and Upper Schoolers ate after that, finishing about 1 p.m. For Lower School, Refectory staff delivered meals to classrooms by cart, and classes then picked a place to eat. Older students picked their meals up at spots in the hallways, and then often headed to the Pit and other outside locations. The Meriwether Godsey staff made dramatic adjustments to their operations and schedule to accomplish the task:

• To maintain social distancing, servers were assigned to specific teams. For instance, some handled cold meals, others handled special meals.

The breakfast team arrived by 6 a.m. The lunch team arrived by 6:30 a.m., at least 30 minutes earlier than in the past.

• Part of the Refectory turned into a preparation area, with thousands of individual bags. Each night, bags were sorted out, with dietary restrictions or allergies labeled.

• Kitchen areas were cleaned and sanitized at least three times each day, whenever someone walked away from that area.

Huynh often did not leave campus until 6 p.m., making for 12-hour work days. “I’ve got a really good team here,” he said. “They all are genuinely caring.” ◆

Mike Connors is Digital News and Social Media Specialist.

Refectory staff served 7,000 meals every week of the school year, preparing every meal individually in a brown bag and delivering them to classes. Students often ate outside at spots around campus.

LUNCH TIME