Retired NFL lineman became the ‘lunch man’ at his kids' school to promote healthy eating

Jared Veldheer goes from lineman to lunch man.
Jared Veldheer played 11 seasons as an offensive lineman in the NFL from 2010 to 2020, spending most of his playing career with the Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals. The 6' 8" Veldheer was known for his incredible size, weighing as much as 330 pounds during the height of his career.
Veldheer was so large that he even stood out while standing next to other NFL linemen.
Weekly reminder of how huge Jared Veldheer is.pic.twitter.com/FGFMCH8IWq— RK (@RK) 1528132191
Looks like Jared Veldheer ate half the Denver Broncos offensive line.pic.twitter.com/DveminQuks— \u1d04\u1d00\u1d0d\u1d07\u0280\u1d0f\u0274 \u1d18\u1d00\u0280\u1d0b\u1d07\u0280 (@\u1d04\u1d00\u1d0d\u1d07\u0280\u1d0f\u0274 \u1d18\u1d00\u0280\u1d0b\u1d07\u0280) 1521865090
After Veldheer retired, he began looking for a new career path that allowed him to follow his passions. In August 2021, he learned that St. Paul the Apostle School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where both his children attend, was in need of someone to manage the school’s kitchen.
The former NFL star had been advising the school’s principal about nutrition and when the job opened up he asked to be considered. Veldheer has a lifelong love of food that started when he was a child. If he didn’t like the lunch his mother made, he would make his own.
"I've always liked cooking," Veldheer told ESPN. "I wasn't sure if I wanted to, you know, be the school lunch lady, but anyway, gave it some thought and I was like, I'm kind of looking for something to do with my time. It's not a bad gig time-commitment wise. I'm around my kids. So I just kind of went for it.”
Now, the former NFL star who earned millions in his career makes $15 an hour and works from 7:45 a.m. to around 1 p.m.
Veldheer is passionate about changing the perceptions surrounding school lunches. "We are able to kind of break the traditional route of school food that looks like just a hunk of frozen corn and a big old rectangular piece of pizza,” he told WZZM13.
Since the former athlete took over, the school has broken from the usual lunch menu standards of chicken nuggets and pizza. Instead, it's added more exotic fare, including beef bulgogi, chicken tikka masala, smoked carnitas and chimichurri flank steak.
Overall, his mission is "to nourish developing humans."
"A lot of kids just eat crap," he said. "I think we live in a time where a lot of kids just kind of get by with snacking all the time with just processed crap in the cupboard. So, it's like, if I can just make it my goal to give them one nourishing meal, then that's good."
The man who once guarded the blind side of quarterbacks such as Carson Palmer and Aaron Rodgers now protects his students’ health by eliminating as many seed oils and simple sugars from their diets as possible.
Former NFL star Jared Veldheer got a job in a Michigan school cafeteria after he retired because he figured he\u2019d \u201cgive it a go\u201d https://www.wzzm13.com/article/sports/time-to-eat-former-nfl-star-veldheer-now-serves-up-lunch-at-grand-rapids-catholic-school/69-0e94c0a5-c509-461b-ac32-93e7e5b9db0c?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/mDh0z0NGXA— Uplifting News by Qwyck (@Uplifting News by Qwyck) 1644604653
Even though Veldheer is completely dedicated to his new job, the parents and faculty at the school can’t help but chuckle a little when they see the 6' 8" former lineman serving up lunch.
"A picture's worth a thousand words on this," St. Paul the Apostle principal Michelle Morrow said. "I'm grinning ear-to-ear just picturing and seeing what I get to see every day, the kids looking straight up to him yet can feel so comfortable and confident in asking him questions and trying different foods, and really figuring out what he's doing.”
You better believe that when Veldheer asks the kids to take another bite of their meal they listen.
"He'll go in the cafeteria and be like, 'Alright, everybody, I want you to take a bite of those beans. I made them special for you,'" Molly Cotter, who has three kids at the school said. "And boy, did they do it."
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."