For more than 15 years Maria Ponce has been the person who turns on the lights at Ridgetop Elementary. She has to be in the cafeteria kitchen by 6 a.m. to start preparing breakfast. By 7 a.m., Hermelinda Sánchez de Loza is there to get ready to feed the kids.
When Ponce started working at Ridgetop, Sánchez de Loza had already been there for four years. They have seen other kitchen staff come and go but have always remained a duo. They know each other’s steps in and out of the kitchen. They know each other’s family history and have comforted one another through rough times.
They also know the name of every kid who walks through the lunch line, which kids are siblings and which come from immigrant families…