Canandaigua school administrators step up to fill cafeteria staffing shortage

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. (WHEC) — Schools are doing everything in their power to keep teaching in-person amid spikes in staff absences due to COVID-19.

The Canandaigua City School District’s primary and elementary school cafeteria was down to around half of its staff this week, so Superintendent Jamie Farr, district administrators and the Board of Education put on some hairnets and got to work.

"The kitchen staff, they tell us what to do,” Farr said. “Today we were making hamburgers and putting out juice and milk and cheese trays. I’m trying to think what else we made… waffles and hashbrowns, and again put out the juice and milk and we made fruit cups.”

Superintendent Farr said this effort to keep schools open is not unique to Canandaigua.

He said he had a parent reach out Wednesday volunteering to help out.

Farr said this is what it’s going to take to get through the surge.