Jackie Pfaff has been a lunch lady for over a decade.

"I love my job, I love working with the kids, I love feeding the kids," said Pfaff, a lunch lady at Shenendehowa High School.

Like many industries facing staffing shortages, food service workers inside of schools still have to feed students. Shenendehowa High School East is down six cafeteria workers, which has employees like Jackie stretched thin.

"It’s not just our school district. And it’s not just the cafeteria, it’s also custodial, the aides, the monitors, we just can’t get the help that we need," Pfaff said.

While staff that remains works hard to keep up with the cycle of food distribution, the amount of mouths to feed has grown. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, 600 students received lunch daily. That number is now at over a thousand with kids also eligible for free breakfast regardless of household income.

“I just think a lot of family’s incomes have changed and I think it’s just easier for the kids to just get lunch here as opposed to going out and buying it," Pfaff said.

Jackie says, to work this job, you have to love children and it’s the perfect schedule for a stay at home parent.

“The times are perfect because you can still get your kids on the bus in the morning and you come home and your kid gets off the bus and you’re there,’ Pfaff said.

Even though her kids are grown, Jackie has fallen in love with the cafeteria and doesn’t plan to leave any time soon.