When you meet Yarlette Bryant, it’s immediately obvious that she loves her job. After all, it’s a position she’s held for nearly 40 years.
Bryant is the cafeteria supervisor at Dallas ISD’s Piedmont Global Academy (formerly John Hood Middle School). She started working there in 1976, at age 20.
“My work is everything to me!” she said. “I love the interaction I have with my students and seeing them eat a healthy and nutritious breakfast and lunch.”
She started as a cashier, a job she worked for four years. “My specialist at that time approached me and asked if I would be interested in the supervisor-training program. She went on to say that, she loved my consistent and up-beat attitude. She was moved by how I worked with others and could see that my love for teaching, listening and inspiring others would be optimal in a supervisor role.”
After some prayer, she took the job. “God has blessed me with the strength and courage to proudly represent myself as a cafeteria supervisor of the past 37 years and still counting,” she said.
Bryant and her crew have won awards for their customer service from Dallas ISD’s Food and Child Nutrition Services. Her employees also appear to love their jobs, comprising a mix of longtime and new employees.
The week of Oct. 9 was National School Lunch Week, a celebration of nutritious school food and the people who prepare and serve it to students. We salute Ms. Bryant and all the men and women who work each schoolday to provide delicious, healthy food for Dallas ISD students.
