Brenda Espinoza is a dedicated hospital food service worker in Manteca, CA. She's been on the job for 20 years, and takes pride in the work she's been able to do throughout her career.

She knows that her role is important when it comes to patient recovery. Not only does she make it a point to ensure that the patient is getting good tasting food that makes them feel like they're at home, but she also works to create diets for patients with special needs.

Because of her 20 years of service, Brenda has hit the top of the payscale at her workplace: $15 and change per hour, which barely helps her to make ends meet as it is. She and her daughter Kathy, also a food service worker at Doctor's Hospital, along with Kathy's children, save money by living together and sharing housing costs.

But she sees new colleagues come in with great cooking skills and making $8 and change. She says that all food service workers need to help each other and work together to make their lives better. "It's the right thing to do," she says.

Leslie is a dedicated food service worker in NJ who loves her job as a cook for the elementary school students at Orange.

She believes that no child should be denied food. Her biggest problem is knowing that a lot of the kids she is serving do not get fed over the weekend when they are not in school.

Leslie would like to see more on-the-job training. This would improve the nutritional quality of the meal, which she knows is vitally important.

Her love for the kids, as if they were her own, is crystal clear. She knows that having a union has helped her to be able to give even more in her job, and feel more secure in her work.