Lunch lady, mom and now an ALICE in Arkansas storyteller, Dumas Native Arnetta Pugh is one of the many voices dispelling the “no hard worker left behind” myth.
Pugh submitted her poem in April and received honorable mention. The committee selected Pugh's entry out of the 10 entries writing about a variety of economic myths.
The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation selected 10 entries for the contest. The producers interviewed Pugh, they visited her at Reed Elementary. She spoke about her work at the school and how being a lunch lady was her dream job. After the interview, they filmed her reciting her entry on the school grounds. They filmed her in May and announced the winners in June.
“It wasn’t in my kitchen, but it was on my campus. It made it really special for me,” Pugh said.
She submitted the following poem below titled Arnetta Kayie The Lunch Lady By Day ALICE by Life To watch Pugh and others recite their entries go on Youtube.com at https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%23SEEALICE or search #SeeALICE.
She learned of the contest from her mentor, Troyce Newton, of the Phoenix Youth and family services in Dumas. She decided to enter the contest after reading the guidelines and watching the different contest videos on Youtube. She discovered they were talking about everyday life and that it is easy to talk about yourself.
Pugh said it took her maybe an hour to compose her poem. she was excited to learn that her entry was selected and that now her voice could be heard by a bigger audience. She often tells her story to friends, Facebook posts and small functions. Pugh’s entry reflects the message of the ALICE message with the key phrase is that people who work low income jobs don’t work hard enough or that people are not doing enough when they are doing the best they can. She said you are just getting by and who wants to live like that.
Pugh began working at Reed Elementary cafeteria 6 years ago and became Cafeteria manager 3 years ago. She attended UAPB and studied Nutrition. She has also worked for the DeWitt County Hospital Food Service and Dana House where she worked as a childcare worker and cook. It has been her dream to be a lunch lady in a school cafeteria. She asks people to remember that no dreams are too small.
Pugh’s daughter Say’e Pugh said it was kind of weird and that she was proud of her mother receiving this honor and having something published. Say’e witness her mother’s poem being recorded as well.
Pugh’s hobby of writing began in high school. She writes poems and stories. She has even had an article published in the National Sunday School Publishing Board. She is looking to self publish a series she is working on some day. She advised anyone wanting to write or publish to read the work out loud, be creative and just be you.
“You can have so many people that admire you or different characters that like you, but it is you that makes you the heart of your recipe. Be yourself,” She said.
The AlICE contest provided ALICE families in Arkansas to tell their story of heroic resilience. The other top entries were Justin Booth, of Little Rock and Reyna Marquez of Sherwood. The ALICE in #SEEALICE stands for Assett Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed. ALICE households have incomes above the Federal Poverty Line, but struggle to afford basic household necessities such as housing, childcare, food, transportation and healthcare. Read more at https://www.aliceinar.org/ .
