Announcer: Video Clips on Blindness Tips, a series of video demonstrations for daily living skills for the blind and visually impaired, presented in conjunction with the Washington State School for the Blind. Becky Sherman of the Dept. of Services for the Blind teaches daily living skills to blind and visually impaired children and adults. In the following clip, Becky describes helpful techniques for dining in a cafeteria setting. WSSB students, Tyler and Bradley demonstrate the methods. 

Becky: Going to a cafeteria for an individual who is blind can be very daunting because none of them are set up the same, none of them have the same types of chairs, types of tables, types of trays. They have varying stations for food. The man power is very limited usually. When your friends suggest that they would like to go to a cafeteria to eat or you find yourself on some campus that has a cafeteria and you are not sure there is another place near by to go to, don’t go hungry. Don’t tell yourself that you’re not hungry because you’re afraid of the cafeteria. Pay attention to what’s going on around you, talk to your friend about where things are within the cafeteria; how it’s set up, the tables where’s the trays, where’s the cash register all those kinds of things and hopefully get them to read you a menu so you know what you want.

Bradley: That you can get a cheeseburger and French fries, onion rings…

Becky: If you want to go to two different stations maybe a salad bar for one station and a hot food line for the other station you don’t have to go through with your friend. Your friend can give some specific directions on how to get where you want to go.

Tyler: Where are the hot foods?

Bradley: The hot food is to your right about 15 feet.

Becky: So feel comfortable enough with yourself to take off and go to the station you want and then meet them either at the register or at a table, once you have gotten all of your food. In learning how to get around a cafeteria or what to do in a cafeteria, listen to people and see if there is a line, listen for where the silverware are, you can pick up on those clues as to how you need to navigate. For example, in some cafeterias you pick your tray and silverware up first, in other cafeterias you grab a tray go through your lines pick up your silverware at the end. So if you listen to what people around you are doing around you ask if you are standing in a large line you might try to talk to the person in front of you or in back of you and ask them what’s available and have they eaten there before and follow people in line. Please do not expect them to let you go first, their time is just as important as yours and just because you can’t see doesn’t mean that you should be able to cut in line. Don’t go through a line thinking that I want dessert, somebody said that this end is dessert and so you just grab something and then you get to the table and find out its coconut cream pie which you literally can not stand.

Tyler: Um, What do we have in this case?

Bakery Lady: We have whole pies; we have slices of Snicker doodle coffee cake.

Becky: Make sure you the confidence to ask for what you want. Don’t go hungry because you don’t want to ask and make sure you ask the right people.

Bakery Lady: There you are.

Becky: When you get to the drink line you can ask anyone around you where specific drink may be.  For example if you open an refrigerator and you want milk out of it you may pick up a milk carton because they are very distinctive and say is this chocolate milk or is this 2% milk? And the person next to you doesn’t mind saying that’s 2 % milk. But you don’t want people feel like they have to stop what they are doing to wait on you.

Sherry: Here you go

Tyler: Thank you.

Sherry: You’re welcome

Becky: When you go to a cafeteria you should be as independent as getting your food and carrying your food as possible. There are several ways you can carry a tray.  I like to hold a tray so it is resting on my arm. I’m holding the outer edge so that if it tips I can tell that it’s tipping with my hand or my arm.  If you have a pop on there with a lid set it next to your body so if it sort of slides you can readjust your tray with that hand keeping the other hand on your cane. Some people try an over arm system where they rest it on their hip and their arm over. You can also then put a pop or something against the arm so you can feel if you tip. There’s not only one way to do things just make sure you pick the one that’s comfortable for you. You can not hold it with both hands and try to use your cane to get around. It’s just, it’s going to tip, your cane is going to bump something and you’re going to tip.  Stabilize your tray with one hand and use your cane with the hand you always use your cane with.  If you have to squeeze between chairs turn sideways, put your cane to the side and cane so you know it’s wide enough to go through, that you and your try are going to make it.  When you get through the line and you get to a cash register ask the cashier where the tables are and maybe even spot a specific empty table or empty seat for you.

Tyler: Where’s a where’s a table to sit at?

Cashier: On your left about 10 steps there’s an empty table.

Tyler: Thank you

Bradley: Tyler, over here.

Becky: Hopefully, if you are in high school or in college, you’ll have friends that are already sitting out there somewhere and they can just call out your name and give you directions on how to get to them. If you decide that you are the type of person who loves salad bars.  You may either ask a friend if you are with someone to go through the salad bar line with you.

Tyler: Brad may please have some carrots and some celery.

Bradley:  That I can do.

Becky: Or go to the cashier and ask the cashier if there is an employee of the cafeteria who could go through the line with you. Please do not go through the line sticking your fingers in all the food,  and/or asking basically another customer to help you put your salad together.  If you have gone to that cafeteria many times, then you will learn that they usually set up the same way and you can eventually learn to do your own salad, knowing pretty much what’s there. If you have a question as to what’s in a certain container you might ask a customer but please do not expect them to put your salad together.  Call a cafeteria employee and have them be the ones that would assist you. 
If you are new to a cafeteria that you are going to be frequenting quite often like a college cafeteria. Go in there when no one is around and walk around fine point A to point B to point C and then find out how you can cut across from A to C so that when its full of other people running around scrambling to get their food then you are confident enough to know what you want and generally how you are going to get there to get it. Go to the cafeterias. Don’t say I don’t want to go or I’m not hungry. Use it as an opportunity and an adventure to be with your friends, so socialize and use the skills that you have learned to get around in the cafeteria and to find the food that you like and to be with the friends you chose to spend the evening or lunch hour with.

Announcer: More video clips for Blindness Clips are available from the Washington State School for the Blind @ wssb.wa.gov.