The effort of nine volunteers and some helpful staff turned a two-day job into one at the Orcas school cafeteria Thursday morning.

Farm-to-Cafeteria, F2C, organized the community effort to repaint the dirty, white walls of the room where young minds break from learning to eat.

“Having been in the restaurant business for over thirty years, I know ambiance is important, but what is most important is the quality of the food,” said organizer Bruce Orchid.

The walls of the cafeteria were painted a vibrant blue by adult and student volunteers.

Orchid said the school custodians were helpful to the volunteer effort. They hauled in the spray-washing equipment and all the paint as well as premixed it for ease of use.

Originally the volunteer effort was estimated to take two days but the work was completed on Thursday requiring no work the second day.

Future projects to beautify the cafeteria will include a mural project planned by the Ecology Club.

“This is merely a detail that we are trying to add to the full experience. It’s gotta be clean. It’s gotta be comfortable,” said Orchid.