A beloved lunch lady in Illinois received a heartwarming surprise this week from the students she serves each day.
Janet Hartu has staffed the lunch line at Blaine Elementary School in Chicago for the past decade. The students affectionately refer to her as Miss Janet.
“They love her. They want to hug her, they want to dance with her, they want to play with her,” PTA President Lauren Trost told WLS-TV. “She can be stern sometimes but they love that about her too.”
Miss Janet knows every student by name, knows who has food allergies and can determine how a child is feeling on any given day.
“My oldest son has been here for eight years and he’s autistic and he has had a special connection with her from the day he came in,” Melissa Silvers said.
Miss Janet shares that connection with hundreds of students she calls her kids. And on Thursday, she realized none of that goes unnoticed when the students and staff threw a surprise celebration in her honor.
“When she gets off the line, she’s in the lunchroom. She’s sitting with kids, she’s singing and dancing, she’s just a presence and it’s great to see her with our students. We’re lucky,” Principal Angie Britow said.
Miss Janet says she feels lucky and has a lot of years left in her to work for the students.
“I’m happy, happy that I’m appreciated and loved,” she said. “I didn’t know I was loved this much but now I know.”
