On April 9th, Time magazine released a special edition article with five different covers showcasing five incredible frontline workers going above around the world.

1. These Dallas Cafeteria
Workers Made the Cover of
Time
On April 9th, Time magazine released a special edition article with five
different covers showcasing five incredible frontline workers going above
around the world. These covers feature people putting themselves at risk
of catching COVID-19 so they can go to work and keep the world running.
The feature, Heroes of the Front Lines, includes twelve stories from
amazing individuals working hard to uplift and support the people in their
community. These heroes range from bus drivers, to food bank workers, to
nonprofit employees, farmers, hospital workers and more in different
countries across the globe.
Before COVID-19 took the world by storm, Yolanda Fisher was just a regular
cafeteria manager—and Porsche Lacey, Keke Lafayette, Shannon Wiggins,
Pamela Harrington and Katrina Parker were just regular food service
assistants. When schools in Dallas, TX closed on March 23rd, these six
incredible workers wanted to do more to help the kids they’ve grown so
accustomed to caring for—and by doing so, they inadvertently became
international heroes when Time chose them for one of their five covers.
Supporting Kids in Their Community
Fisher and her cafeteria assistants didn’t stop caring for the kids who
attended T.W. Browne Middle School just because they could no longer see
them every day. Thus they began making “grab and go” meals so that

2. every Thursday students can pick up a weeks’ worth of food. The workers
especially worried about the children who relied on school for the only
meal they would get that entire day; now they and their families don’t have
to worry about going hungry during this pandemic.
Regarding why doing this was important to all of them, Fisher said, “I’m
still going to work because we’re still feeding the kids—it’s not just kids
that attend my school, it’s any child that stayed in Dallas and they need a
meal. And if a family is really in need, we give the adults a meal as well.”
Since they began this incredible work until the time the article released,
Fisher and her team processed, packed and distributed over 1M meals.
They don’t have any plans to stop.
Not Without Risk
They continue to work tirelessly to ensure that kids in the community have
access to food despite the inherent risks and their severe lack of access to
safety precautions.
Although they have gloves, masks and sanitizer, and wash their hands
often, the workers had to purchase these provisions on their own; the
school didn’t have masks available and instructed them to settle for using
a bandanna to cover their faces, despite the dangers of mixing reusable
masks and high-risk environments.
Though aware of the potential for infection, fear never slowed them down.
As Fisher’s quote across her Time cover says, “I’m a server for life. It’s an
honor to serve those kids who really need it.”
Other Time Honorees

3. Alongside these Dallas cafeteria workers, the other four covers featured
Danny Kim, a paramedic from Teaneck, NJ; Michael Fowler, a coroner from
Dougherty County, GA; Francesco Menchise, an anesthesiologist from
Ravenna, Italy; and Alanna Badgley, a paramedic from Yonkers, NY. Their
stories and the others demonstrated the incredible care and compassion
exhibited by frontline workers around the world. More than ever, we see
humanity’s capacity for taking care of our most vulnerable—even when it’s
risky.
On being on the cover, Fisher says, “It’s an honor. Because this is
something we do day in and day out. And now we’re being recognized for
something we’ve been doing for years.”