When Darlene French began as school lunch cook in 1977, meals were a quarter and the program served 500 meals a day. Over the next five decades, the program expanded from lunch to include breakfast to Community School District students and, eventually, all schools in Alternative Organizational Structure 98 schools. But two things remained constant in the food program: great food and French’s dedication to her job. 

French began the year Boothbay Regional Elementary School was built. BRES’s cafeteria became the hub of the food service program. French has previous experience in serving food to large numbers of people at the former North Star Restaurant in Boothbay. The lunch program was looking for cooks and French told former CSD board member Ken Honey about her interest in the job. “He knew I was a good worker, and told me he thought I’d be great in the position because he’d seen me work for the Lions and Rotary,” French said. 

She was one of five cooks hired. She rose through the ranks to supervisor and eventually became the district’s food service director responsible for serving lunch and breakfasts to the Boothbay Region elementary and high schools and Edgecomb, Southport and Georgetown schools. French begins her work day at 6 a.m. She checks her emails to address potential problems and prepare her staff for serving meals. French writes a monthly school meal menu, orders supplies and supervises her staff to make sure the food is hot and delicious.

The school nutrition program has changed over the years. It now serves 250 meals five days per week and costs $2.95 per meal. But the actual cost is closer to $7, according to French. “I’m responsible for all the reports to the state and federal governments for reimbursements. The difference in the cost is due to labor, and what the state and federal governments don’t pay, then the towns have to make up.”

The food service staff is challenged with preparing meals which meet federal guidelines. School lunches are required to include two ounces of meat, a half cup vegetables, a half cup of fruits, and a serving of whole grain bread. Over the years, students typically have had the same favorites, French said: Macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, chicken casserole, hamburgers and pizza. She spends most of her time in her BRES cafeteria office, but she makes her rounds to other AOS 98 cafeterias. “I get to the high school cafeteria more, but I travel regularly to Georgetown, Southport and Edgecomb, too.”  For French, the time she’s spent serving school meals has been a wonderful experience. “My husband tells me that he's never heard me complain once. And I have nothing to complain about. I love my job and worked with a wonderful staff and administration.” French loves her job so much, she has 120 unused sick days. “I don’t know what to do with them. I have all these days, and I’m leaving.” 

French’s impact on school meal programs goes beyond Boothbay Harbor. She has impacted schools all over Maine, whether it’s Bangor, Biddeford, Blaine, Buxton, or Bucksport for a couple decades. From 2000 to 2010, French became a member of the Maine School Nutrition Association and eventually became its president. The group lobbied state and federal legislators to strengthen school lunch programs. French and four or five other association members traveled to Augusta and Washington, D.C. each year lobbying state legislators and Maine’s congressional delegation. “I tell you we went down there every year and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe would take time and meet with us every year,” she said. French hoped Augusta and Washington, D.C. politicians would fund universal lunch. But her lobbying efforts came up short. “I thought that would happen, but it hasn’t so far. I really thought I’d see it before I left. I’m really passionate about this. If you ride the bus for free, why can’t you eat for free, too?”

Her departure from the school lunch program will give her more free time for recreation. She and her husband enjoy snowmobiling and four-wheeling. The couple makes four trips annually to Aroostook County to snowmobile and they own a camp in the Piscastaquis County town of Parkman, which neighbors Guilford. “We’re not on a lake, but it’s great for four-wheeling. And we love Caribou and travel to Fort Kent, Sinclair and St. Agatha. The Aroostook County trails are wonderful, and the country is beautiful,” she said. 

In 2012, the Frenches made a summer trip to Caribou to see the County’s legendary potato blossoms. While there, she saw an old acquaintance in the Caribou Motor Inn. It was Susan Collins, preparing for her wedding. And the senator called out to her: “My God Darlene, what are you doing here?”

In her time as AOS 98 food director, French did more than just prepare and serve food, she was an innovator. In the breakfast program’s early days, only 25 students participated. French and then-guidance counselor Jeanne Tonon investigated why more students didn’t participate. They discovered students weren’t hungry at 7:30 a.m. “We talked to students and found out what they ate in the morning, and it was like goldfish crackers and candy,” she said. “We also found out they were hungry around 9 a.m., so we started a pilot program, and delivered bagged breakfasts with muffins,  juice, fruit, carrot sticks, banana bread, cereal and French toast sticks. And it went from 25 to 200.”

Next fall, French will be replaced by her daughter Laurie Dickinson, who has worked 15 years in the program. She described her mother as an outstanding role model in her work ethic. “She’s a hard worker, and the program wouldn’t be what it is today without her,” Dickinson said. As far as following her mother’s footsteps, she and French are confident in a smooth transition. “We’ve talked about school lunch since I was a kid, and if there’s a problem, then she’s only a phone call away,” she said.