Panther Valley purchases $200K in kitchen gear

Panther Valley’s cafeteria appliances are getting a $200,000 upgrade.

At the school board’s meeting last week, the board voted to purchase $208,487.74 worth of equipment for the district’s cafeteria workers.

The purchase, which will be made through a state contract, includes two ovens, two dishwashers, a freezer, refrigerator and heated cabinet.

Representatives from the district’s contracted food service provider, the Nutrition Group, were on hand for the vote.

Regional manager Bill Budd said the items will increase the efficiency of service at the high school in particular.

“We can’t cook the food fast enough for the kids. We have a lot of kids coming through. We’re trying to take care of them and give them the best possible service,” Budd said.

The purchases are separate from a proposed cafeteria project that district officials have been working on.

The school board is currently weighing whether to go ahead with a project to modernize the cafeteria at the high school.

Bids for the project came back higher than expected, and the school board will meet later this month to decide what they plan to do.