Concessions are an essential part of the American football experience. It takes a village to keep them up and running, especially during peak football and volleyball season. The stands are full of rowdy students who have built up an appetite.
Amy Johnson, (she/her), and Jill Schroeder, (she/her), are the managers of the Liberty concession stands. They each have their duties and volunteer their time to help Liberty students, families and the athletic booster club.
Schroeder is the primary concession owner so she sets up the concessions, orders the supplies, creates Sign-Up Geniuses, cleans up, keeps things stocked and sends emails regarding volunteers. Both Schroeder and Johnson take care of the menu and prices. Johnson runs the main concession stand under the bleachers during football season, and Schroeder runs the guest concession stand. However, they share those concession stand responsibilities during winter, spring and summer sports.
Homecoming football night for Liberty was a hit, with 14 volunteers and four lines to the fence, and they were able to keep things flowing smoothly. With that being said, the volunteers had to make sales, keep count of food items, work together as a team and keep the line moving.
The students who play sports at Liberty High School are highly encouraged to serve the community through these concessions on game nights. This is because they are student-athlete-run stands.
Johnson stated, “We [the volunteers] always talk about what the best and worst concession stand job is, and to me, the worst is filling up the coolers.”
Meanwhile, Schroeder said, “My least favorite is when we’re short [on] volunteers.”
Ideally, because the concession stands rely on student-athletes to sign up, the concessions should have no problem with volunteers. The coaches highly encourage volunteering and send out links, but nobody is required to help out..
“It’s easier with some sports than others,” expressed Schroeder. They tend to see the same familiar faces year to year.
Johnson and Schroeder have both agreed that their favorite part about running the concessions at Liberty is the people they have met along the way.
“You’re making people happy. They’re there to get something to make them happy, and that makes the environment that we’re in kind of upbeat and kind of fun,” Schroeder stated.
The booster club’s primary source of income is from the Liberty concessions. Therefore, to keep the concessions running, student-athletes need to continue getting involved.
