After students were dismissed early on Thursday, Feb. 12, due to a power outage, Heather Coleman, cafeteria manager, entered a state of confusion and panic. 

“We just immediately took all the food and put everything away,” Coleman said. “Everyone finished the job that they were doing and then we started taking all the food out of our pass-through freezers and refrigerators to move to the big one.” 

Students were dismissed from school at 8:50 a.m. as a result of the power outage stemming from a transformer that served the building catching fire at about 8 a.m. Coleman said that because there are no windows in the kitchen, it was pitch black, so to keep cafeteria staff safe, lanterns and flashlights were put to use. 

That morning, breakfast lines operated as normal. Generators were not utilized for the refrigerators, as these refrigerators retain their temperature for significant periods of time, even without power. 

Because power was restored by about 1 p.m., no food was spoiled, and minimal food was thrown out, Coleman said. In total, 30 chicken sandwiches and 30 to 40 cheeseburgers were thrown out. 

“The whole school relies on the cafeteria to feed them lunch, but school was dismissed before lunch was served, so we just didn’t serve lunch that day,” Coleman said. 

Being a Pizza Thursday fanatic, Ellie Bernet, senior, was disappointed to find out that because of the power outage, she wouldn’t get to eat pizza that week. 

“I’ve been a Pizza Thursday regular since freshman year, and I really look forward to it every week,” Bernet said. 

Bernet thought that the pizza scheduled for Thursday would be served the day after instead, but after coming back on Friday and seeing that pizza wasn’t served, she was upset. 

“I actually almost started crying,” Bernet said. 

Carmen Fischer, director of Child Nutrition Services, said the restaurant pizzas that were already cooked or in process were sent to Crestview Middle School instead of MHS to be served at lunch. 

The remaining order that was yet to be cooked by the restaurant wasn’t completed, and other menu items that weren’t cooked by MHS staff kept in the freezer. 

The outage cost the district a total of $50, Fischer said. 

“We have had power outages due to weather in the past,” Fischer said. “The cost will vary widely based on the number of schools affected, how much inventory is on hand at those schools and if the outages are caught so that we can unload the units and save the product.” 

With a power outage, administration first communicates with the Facilities Department to determine how long the outage may last. 

“If it’s going to be overnight or several day outage, we’ll empty out the coolers and freezers and move to the warehouse cooler and freezers or to another school,” Fischer said. 

Fischer said this situation differs from snow days, as warehouse staff would still deliver groceries to MHS if the weather permits when school is cancelled due to snow. Snow day menu items can be thawed in the cooler, and staff would prepare those items in replacement or alongside the menu items scheduled for the next day when students return to school.  

“Quality food is at the heart of what we do for our students,” Fischer said. “If ever an item is questionable we will dispose of it to ensure everyone is safe.”

Lauren Bell, Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, didn’t have many issues with the food in her classroom because the power was restored so quickly. At the time of the outage, Bell had dough in her classroom fridge for a lab for her Baking and Pastry class, along with butter, cheese and some other miscellaneous items. 

“Since we knew it would be back on pretty quick, we weren’t too concerned,” Bell said. “As soon as we saw the power was out, we left the refrigerator and freezer doors closed because once you open them up they usually start to go bad.” 

Bell said that if the power were to be out for a day or longer,  she could transport anything to the cafeteria fridges. 

In general, the “danger zone” temperature for perishable foods is when it is above 31 to 140 degrees for longer than two hours, Bell said. Meat products usually are higher in bacteria and can more quickly become dangerous to consume. 

“Usually, they say between 24 to 48 hours if the [refrigerator or freezer] door is shut when the power goes out, then it’s still safe,” Bell said.