By 8 a.m. — as most people begin weekday morning routines or sit down for breakfast — Debbie Marshall's already got pots heating on the stove and meat thawing, and is prepping fruit and veggies. Every morning, from an apartment-sized school kitchen in St. John's, she whips up healthy, hot lunches daily for anywhere from 140 to 200 elementary students.

A head cook and server for Newfoundland and Labrador's School Lunch Association (SLA) who started out as a volunteer nearly 20 years ago when her kids were in kindergarten, Marshall knows the value of every tray of mac and cheese, pancakes, goulash or lasagna that she and her student helpers serve up during the 45-minute lunch rush.

"In Newfoundland, we're a rich province, but in another way, we're a poor province. We have a lot of people h

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