Caped crusaders zipped through their kitchens using special abilities to put together meals for hundreds of Baker School District children Thursday morning.

The crusaders, school district cooks really, were just going about their day in the usual way — but with bigger smiles and a little more flair than usual.

The capes and other adornments they wore were part of the National School Lunch Hero Day celebration in the schools.

“I think it’s pretty cool,” said Rochelle Stoaks, 61, who’s been a Baker School District cook for the past 19 years. She works with Debbie White, 55, at Brooklyn Primary School. White has cooked for the District for nearly 24 years.

The two women donned their Lunch Hero capes as they prepared Thursday’s meal that featured the “super food” acai berry.

According to the District’s May menu, acai berry is “an indigenous berry commonly found in the rain forest of the Amazon.

“This antioxidant-rich fruit has been heralded for centuries as an immune-stimulating, energy-boosting fruit.”

The women whirled up 323 smoothies that blended frozen strawberries, blueberries, bananas, acai puree and soy milk to serve to four separate lunch sessions Thursday.

Stoaks and White said they were especially pleased to see Superintendent Mark Witty show up to honor their efforts as part of the day’s festivities.

“It was nice just being recognized,” White said. “Normally, you don’t see the superintendent in the kitchen.”

The National School Lunch Hero Day was started by the School Nutrition Association and Jarrett Krosoczka, said Jessica Dalton, the District’s Food Services director. Krosoczka is the author of the crime-fighting “Lunch Lady” graphic novel series.

The apron-wearing “Lunch Lady” hero of the books uses her super-powered rubber gloves and is armed with tools of her trade such as spatulas and egg beaters, and condiments like honey mustard, which she uses to foil villains intent on doing evil in her school and community.

Although the Baker School District’s cooks don’t fight crime, they do use their special abilities to brighten the days of the children they serve, their bosses say.

At South Baker Intermediate School, Debbie Koontz, 59, a 17-year veteran cook for the Baker School District, and Alita Arendell, 61, who started her job just three years ago, got into the spirit of the day with their capes and special “Lunch Lady” headbands.

“We like to have fun,” Koontz said.

But just like the “Lunch Lady” hero of graphic novel fame, these women do much more than cook, said South Baker Principal Nanette Lehman.

“They pay attention to the students and reach out to those who are having a bad day and come to me with their concerns. They’re always asking, ‘how can we help?’ ” Lehman said.

“They take their responsibility beyond cooking. They work to develop relationships and reach out to the students,” she added.

The cooks also are eager to help ease the children into trying some of the foods appearing on their menu as part of the new school lunch requirements.

Other super foods served throughout the “Super Hero Week” included kale, edamame, Greek yogurt and quinoa.

Thursday’s menu also offered corn dogs or ham sandwiches, steamed broccoli, carrot and celery sticks, and sliced peaches and grapes.

The cooks credited Dalton with bringing a wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables to the lunch tables.

“Jessica has done an awesome job of introducing healthy foods,” White said.

Students have come to look forward to eating kale chips, baked in the oven with olive oil and seasoning salt, the women said. And the cooks have learned to like them, too.

Stoaks said she also has expanded her food-choice horizons.

“I hadn’t known what jicama was until it was introduced here,” she said of the root vegetable that’s similar to a turnip.

See more in the May 6, 2016, issue of the Baker City Herald.