In CT? At 40 hours per week, which you'll never get since scheduling always avoids that so they don't risk overtime, that is just $32k per year. The average apartment rent is more than half of that. $15 per hour is not a living wage by any stretch of the imagination.

It has nothing to do with skill and everything to do with the work that needs to be done. If we want people to do these jobs, we need to pay them for their time. There will always be jobs that are easier than others, but a) time doesn't care and b) food service is not easy. It's easy to teach, but it is not easy.