Over 29 years as food service chief, Yesh saw changes

While some food may always remain standard staples in school cafeterias, there’s no doubt that many changes have been made over the past three decades in what students eat while receiving their education.

And as Walled Lake Schools Food Services Supervisor for the past 29 years, Kathleen Yesh has seen many of these changes during her tenure with the district, which came to an end on Thursday, June 30.

“The food and options we serve now are a lot different than what we had in the 1970s,” she said. “For example, back in the 1970s, the only milk available was whole milk. Today, we have 1-percent, skim, and a bunch of other options.”

However, the biggest change Yesh remembers involves water.

“I remember when the first sales representative came in with bottled water, and I thought at the time, ‘What a funny thing. You can just turn on the sink and get water out of a tap for free.’ Back then, who would’ve thought bottled water would sell,” Yesh said.

With over 30 years spent in food services in the state of Michigan, Yesh said she just felt it was “time to retire.”

However, she said she will miss being a part of the students’ lives and nutritional well-being.

“You really feel like you are contributing to the success of the students by providing food nutrition and making sure they aren’t hungry so they can concentrate on their studies,” she said. “I will miss the wonderful staff of people. I’ve made some wonderful friendships with my staff and other food service directors in Wayne and Oakland counties.”