With the addition of the gas stove donated by Lowe’s, the Culinary Academy continues on its path to excellence.

“We did a cooking show and they were impressed by our food,” said Chef Tammy Newman, the Culinary Academy instructor. “They came to see our setup, and they saw our old stove and suggested that we apply for their grant.”

The stove was donated as a result of the $5,000 Toolbox Grant that Inlet Grove recently received. The Lowe’s Toolbox for Education program has provided over $42 million to more than 9,600 schools across the country.

“Inlet Grove is extremely appreciative of Lowe’s and their toolbox grant for supporting our school and the Culinary Arts Academy,” said Diane Jacques, special projects coordinator. “The new gas stove has increased Chef Newman’s ability to instruct her students and has made a huge improvement in our educational capabilities.”

Chef Newman and her students cater for many events and are big on their self-sustaining system. “That means I do everything myself,” said Newman. The Culinary Academy produces meals for teachers’ lunches as well as for many other school and community events. Newman said the stove will be very helpful. “It will definitely get a lot of use.”

While the new stove will contribute to the production of the academy’s delicious food, Lowe’s has been quite the supporter in other ways. Inlet Grove previously received $8,000 to jump start the creation of the new garden between buildings 1 and 2. The garden will be filled with vegetables and spices for the Culinary Academy to use in cooking. It also will host  benches for students to enjoy the beautiful outdoor nature.

The Toolbox Grant was used to further increase the production of the garden. This special space will allow teachers to have outdoor classes, and let students just chill when they want to enjoy a beautiful day. A big thanks to Lowe’s for helping us so much, giving us the opportunity to not only create a garden, but supporting our Culinary Academy with the gas stove.