Dear Aramark Employee,

I would just like to clarify something right now. I appreciate you greatly. No matter who you are, no matter what your job is in Corban's dining hall, I appreciate the amount of work that you put in. I know it isn't always easy, and I know that most of you don't really enjoy your job.

I would also like to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry we always talk about how much we hate the food you serve us. Now, most of you are fully well aware - it isn't the highest quality. But that doesn't mean any less effort went into it on your part.

See, I've been in your shoes before. Actually, when I needed to wear shoe covers for the first two weeks of working produce and prep cook, I was in your shoes literally. Therefore I know - you don't get thanked nearly often enough.

Thank you for doing our dishes. Thank you for making our food. Thank you for grilling our burgers and making sure our produce is relatively safe to eat.

Let's face it, the food isn't even that bad.

You guys get a lot right. For one thing, your bacon game is on POINT. As is your chocolate chip game - whether it's pancakes or cookies. If you've added chocolate, it's probably good. Though I must ask - whose idea were the sriracha cupcakes last year?

I've never questioned the cleanliness of where you serve our food. Your cashiers do a great job of keeping the dining area clean.

I appreciate the late hours closing shift takes in order to get the dishes done and everything put away in short order. And though I no longer work for Aramark, I will forever respect the thankless job that it often is.

So just know that I appreciate you.

Sincerely,

A Corban student who knows you don't get nearly enough love

Now, for the rest of you:

Am I just as guilty of making the occasional Aramark joke as any of you? Yes. Do I think going as far as to say the food is gross is a bit much? Also yes.

See, here's the deal: It's really not that bad. Sure the eggs are runny, the lettuce a little wilted sometimes, and the rare times someone decided we needed a sriracha cupcake - still not over it! - but it's food. And, while yes, we are paying for it, it's conveniently right here on campus whenever we need it.

So let's stop and realize: You don't know who's behind your food. The prep cook could be the girl who sits next to you in Missional Living. The dish crew could consist of the people who make your classes interesting. And the janitor might just be that guy you occasionally talk to in the coffee shop but whose name escapes you.

(Okay, I'm being real. If you don't know them well enough to know they work in Aramark, this is probably a reasonable situation.)

So try to thank the people working in our dining hall, our coffee shop, and the Pod. They work harder than most of us realize.