Team Spotlight

Traci Thorson, Food Service Director, started as a fill-in food service worker and within 6 months, she was promoted to Food Service Director at Maranatha Christian Academy. That was 18 years ago!

It has been a perfect fit for her in many ways.

She started when her youngest son began school at Maranatha, where his two older brothers also attended. She got to see her kids during the school day and had all the same days off as they did, so she and her husband never had to worry about daycare. She assumed she’d find a new job after her youngest graduated but stayed because she loves being a part of the Maranatha community.

“The people are amazing here,” she said. “The kids are polite – they’re just awesome.”

Prior to working at Maranatha, Traci was an office manager. She had to quickly get up to speed on the daily responsibilities of a food service program and get her ServSafe certification.

Her office management skills helped her improve the efficiency of the food service program. She began tracking the ingredient costs for every meal on her beloved spreadsheets to shore up the food service budget, a practice she continues today.

In addition to budgeting, Traci single-handedly provides made-to-order and a la carte breakfast service; plans the hot lunch, cold lunch, soup and salad menus; places distributor orders; compiles reports; and runs the point-of-sale system.

Traci went to college to be a health teacher but student teaching in south Minneapolis derailed those plans. With her job, she gets to be around students, which she loves, without the stress of teaching. She also enjoys the paperwork aspects of her job.

“This gives me the best of both worlds,” she said. “I don’t think I could do a sit-down job. I love that the days go by so fast.”

Caleb Saidu, Cook/Server (pictured above on right) started in December 2023. At Maranatha, he preps salads, deli sandwiches and soup for the day and serves meals for the students.

“I like interacting with the students,” Caleb said. “We talk about how classes are going, their favorite subjects and what do they want to be when they grow up and why. It’s really inspiring!”

In his free time, Caleb goes to the gym and plays video games, or goes to church with his family or has family movie nights. Caleb immigrated to the United States from Sierra Leone in western Africa with his mom and younger sister.

Marcus Smith, Cook/Server, has been with CKC Good Food and Maranatha since February of this year. He’s responsible for prepping the hot lunches every day, serving students and other tasks Traci has for him.

Prior to CKC Good Food, Marcus was a cook at United Hospital. In his free time, he likes going to the gym.