County approves teaching kitchen for Adams County Extension Office

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - The Adams County Extension Office will be adding a teaching kitchen to its facility thanks to an approval by the Adams County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.

The Adams County Board unanimously approved the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for nearly $29,000 to create a teaching kitchen for the extension office.

The kitchen will allow several programs in the county advance a higher educational environment for youth and adults. Some of the programs that would benefit include 4-H participants, programs on kitchen safety, community cooking classes and more.

“Our office is housed in the ACRES building, which used to be an elementary school. There’s not a kitchen in the building and many of our programs, we really could use a facility to teach,” Lynn DeVries, Early Childhood Extension Educator, said. “So, this kitchen will just open up a lot more opportunity for us to make more programs available here in Adams County.”

DeVries said they see this as an opportunity for learning and growth.

“And in this kitchen, once we have it, you know, it’s an investment in our constituents in Adams County,” DeVries said. “Our clientele will be able to enjoy this classroom experience for many, many years to come.”

She thanked the commissioners for approving the proposal and seeing it as investment in education in the county.

The county’s maintenance department will be in charge of constructing the project, besides some upper level cabinet installation.

The extension office will work with them to get a timeline in place for the projects completion.

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