K-12 | Designed Projects

YUCAIPA HIGH SCHOOL

Yucaipa, CA

The Yucaipa High School Serving Counter Redesign –

School cafeterias must process a massive volume of students within a very narrow window of time. When the infrastructure supporting that daily rush becomes outdated, it impacts both the staff’s ability to serve and the students’ overall dining experience.

When Yucaipa High School recognized it was time to replace their aging serving counters, they partnered with Ray to overhaul the space. The objective was clear: create a serving environment that prioritized efficiency, ergonomic support for the staff, and a visually appealing atmosphere for the students.

Outdated Infrastructure

Aging serving lines often present a compound set of challenges for school districts. At Yucaipa High School, the existing setup was no longer meeting the operational needs of the nutrition team.

To successfully upgrade the space, the design needed to address four primary areas:

• Workflow Efficiency: Speeding up the line to ensure students had ample time to eat and socialize rather than wait for their food.

• Ergonomics: Designing counters and equipment placements that reduced physical strain on the cafeteria staff during high-volume service periods.

• Counter Components: Incorporate cutting edge multi-level sneeze guards with built in heaters in the top and bottom, accessible and beautiful refrigeration, single point connections, and modularity.

• Aesthetics: Not just for looks, studies in developmental psychology show that adolescents internalize the value of their surroundings. When given an elevated environment of higher-quality, well-maintained items, teens often respond with increased care and responsibility. 

Collaborative Innovation

At IRC Design, effective foodservice design begins with listening. Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all template, our design team worked closely with the District and High School Nutrition staff to understand the specific logistical hurdles their staff faced every day.

By analyzing their daily operational needs, we developed a customized solution: a modernized, four-serving-counter layout. This new configuration was strategically engineered to:

• Decongest traffic at the point of service and facilitate an easy exit.

• Provide staff with intuitive, easily accessible workstations.

• Incorporate elevated finishes that brightened the entire room.

A Modernized Student Experience

The installation of the new counter system successfully transformed the Yucaipa High School serving area. The updated flow allows students to move through the lines quickly and intuitively, while the ergonomic improvements have created a more supportive daily environment for the staff. Thank you to every staff member at Yucaipa High School for your invaluable input, and the Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District Nutrition Department for a wonderful collaboration.