Lunch lady, in Canada and the US, is a term for a

woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

who cooks and serves

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...

in a

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

cafeteria A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school ...

. The equivalent term in the United Kingdom is dinner lady. The role is also sometimes known as cafeteria lady. Sometimes, a lunch lady also patrols the school

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people ...

s during lunch breaks to help maintain order.

Notable examples

* '' The Lunch Lady: A Documentary,'' directed by

Leslie Mello Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

, chronicles the story of Sharon Adl Doost, who garnered notoriety for her daily "menu hotline" recordings at the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

cafeteria. * Denise Martin, a contestant on '' Survivor: China''.

In popular culture

* ''

dinnerladies Lunch lady, in Canada and the US, is a term for a woman who cooks and serves food in a school cafeteria. The equivalent term in the United Kingdom is dinner lady. The role is also sometimes known as cafeteria lady. Sometimes, a lunch lady also ...

'' is a British TV sitcom, that aired on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, although it was set in a fictional factory rather than a school. *

Miss Beazley Miss Beazley (October 28, 2004 – May 17, 2014) was a Scottish Terrier which belonged to former U.S. President George W. Bush and former U.S. First Lady Laura Bush. Miss Beazley's father, a Scottish terrier named Clinton, was born on ...

from the

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a ser ...

'', Gladys serves as the cafeteria lady for the Muppet Theater's canteen. In Season Four, Gladys is replaced by Winny. *

Lunchlady Doris The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...

is the Springfield Elementary School lunch lady on ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

''. *

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...

on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' performed a song called "Lunch Lady Land" and accompanying skit with Chris Farley dressed up as a lunch lady. The song appeared on Sandler's album ''

They're All Gonna Laugh at You! ''They're All Gonna Laugh at You!'' is the debut album by American actor and comedian Adam Sandler, released in 1993. The title comes from a repeated line in the track "Oh Mom...", which is itself a parody of a scene in the film '' Carrie''. Seve ...

''. * The school lunch lady plays a key role in the plot of " Earshot", an episode of ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

''. *

Rosa Petitjean ''Code Lyoko'' () is a French animated television series created by Thomas Romain and Tania Palumbo and produced by Antefilms Production (season 1) and MoonScoop Group (seasons 2-4) for France 3 and Canal J, with the participation of Conseil Gén ...

is a fictional lunch lady of Kadic Junior High School in the French animated series '' Code Lyoko''. * Edna is the highly unhygienic lunch lady for Bullworth Academy in the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

Bully Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by ot ...

''. She often coughs, sneezes, and blows cigarette smoke on any food she prepares, believing it "adds flavor." She also is unconcerned about the opinions of health inspectors. * The band

The Darkness Darkness is the absence of light. Darkness or The Darkness may also refer to: Film and television * ''Dark'' (TV series), a 2017 German-language TV series produced by Netflix * Darknss, a character from the film ''Legend'' (1985) * ''Darkne ...

has a song named "Dinner Lady Arms" on their album '' One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back''. * In the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

TV series '' Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide'', Lunch Lady Rose (portrayed by

Loni Love Loni Love (born July 14, 1971) is an American comedian, television host, actress, author, and former electrical engineer. While working as an electrical engineer in the early 2000s, she switched to music engineering, until later launching a caree ...

) is a psychic lunch lady who can see the future in the beans, peas, and corn. * Mrs. Sara MacGrady, the lunch lady for Lakewood Elementary School in the TV show '' Arthur''. * In the Nickelodeon animated series, ''

Danny Phantom ''Danny Phantom'' is an American animated superhero action adventure television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. The series follows Danny Fenton, a teenage boy who, after an accident with an unpredictable portal between the human ...

'', the first villain that appears is the Lunch Lady Ghost (voiced by Patricia Heaton in the first appearance, Kath Soucie in later appearances). She does not like any changes to the cafeteria's good meat-based lunch menu and she can also control food (namely meat), to the point of forming it 100% all around herself as a giant evil meat monster. * In the Nickelodeon series ''

All That ''All That'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by Brian Robbins and Mike Tollin. The series originally aired on Nickelodeon from April 16, 1994, to October 22, 2005, lasting ten seasons, and was produced by Tollin/Robbins P ...

'', Miss Piddlin (portrayed by Kenan Thompson) is a lunch lady who gets angry at students who don't like peas. Sketches featuring her frequently ending with her singing a pea-themed song parody. One sketch had her competing with another lunch lady (portrayed by

Christy Knowings Christy Lorraine Knowings (born February 25, 1980) is an American actress and comedienne who served three seasons on the Nickelodeon sketch-comedy series ''All That'' (where she replaced Alisa Reyes in 1997 and was replaced by Giovonnie Samuels ...

) who mostly serves carrots. * In the series '' Johnny Test'', one of Johnny's enemies is a lunch lady. This lunch lady has greenish skin and speaks in a German accent. She can be very cruel when students don't eat her disgusting (albeit sometimes healthy) food. *

Jarrett J. Krosoczka Jarrett J. Krosoczka ( ) (born December 22, 1977, in Worcester, Massachusetts) is the author and illustrator of a number of picture books, most famously his ''Lunch Lady'' series. Life Krosoczka was raised entirely by his maternal grandparents, ...

wrote and illustrated a ''Lunch Lady'' series of children's

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

s beginning with ''Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute'' in 2009; a

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

movie based on the series was announced and would feature Amy Poehler in the lead role.

References

{{reflist Education and training occupations Food services occupations School meal programs in the United States Lunch Gendered occupations