MARKSVILLE, La. (KALB) - Marksville Elementary spent the summer replacing its old cafeteria walls with a new design featuring bold colors and oversized drums hanging from the ceiling, each printed with a word school leaders want students to carry with them throughout the day.
“This is what our students get to walk in every day and see first thing in the morning when they come in and eat breakfast with us,” Child Nutrition Program Supervisor Jenny Welch said.
Marksville Elementary and Bunkie Elementary both received redesigned cafeterias this summer. Marksville is the sixth school in the district to get the upgrade. The school board redesigned its four high school cafeterias a few years ago.
The school board has run summer meal box programs since the COVID-19 pandemic, which left extra revenue on the books. Welch said the redesign was a way to give back.
“This was one way that we felt: what better way than for the kids to want to come in and eat with us every day in this bright and colorful environment,” Welch said.
Palmer Hamilton designed the space. The project cost just under half a million dollars, paid for with federal child nutrition funds, according to Welch.
Welch said she saw students’ reactions firsthand on day one.
“To see their eyes just open and look around at all of the things. I think it was a lot for them to take in. Some of them even forgot to eat because they were sitting there just in awe at all that was surrounding them,” Welch said.
Avoyelles runs a four-day school week, and every student gets three free meals a day. Welch said the redesign lifted morale for both students and staff.
“They work really hard to feed all of the children at Marksville Elementary; they know each child by name, they ask them how their morning is, and they greet them with a big smile. So for them to have this environment surrounding them, it just matches the way that they want all of our children to feel every day when they walk in our cafeteria,” Welch said.
The current cafeteria was built in 1997. Welch said she hopes the redesign sends students off with something beyond a full plate.
“At the top, there are these huge drums that have all of the words that Marksville Elementary aspires for every student to have. It’s a way for them to reach for their dreams and walk in every morning, starting their day off, reaching for the sky, being the best version of themselves that they can,” Welch said.
Welch said the goal is to give students a reason to look up and a reason to look forward to a nutritious meal.
Welch said Plaucheville Elementary, Lafargue Elementary, Cottonport Elementary and Riverside Elementary are set for cafeteria redesigns as well.
She hopes those projects are completed by the end of the school year.
Click here to report a typo. Please provide the title of the article in your email.
Copyright 2026 KALB. All rights reserved.