On Thursday, the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for the Ellis Perkins Southwest Appliance Teaching Kitchen at the Boys & Girls Club of Brown County.
“A little over a year ago when the kitchen was just an idea I went to Ellis, I was working on pricing information, I told him what I was looking for and asked what that was going to run,” said Kat Palmer, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Brown County. “He sat with me for a minute and then told me to just tell him when we needed it and he would have it delivered. He was our very first supporter of the teaching kitchen and really what turned this from just a dream into a reality with the initial donation.”
Due to that act of generosity, Palmer felt it was only fitting Perkins and the Southwest Appliance name were linked to the project.
“I know Ellis has been a huge contributor in this community for a long time,” Palmer said. “Southwest Appliance has been here for ages and from what I understand Ellis is generally very supportive of organizations and programs in the community, so we were honored to be able to name the room after him as our initial donor.”
Other contributors to the project included Atmos Energy, the E.P. Woodruff Trust, the H.G. Beadel Foundation, the Central Texas Foundation and Dr. Henry Chisholm.
Regarding the work that has taken place since the project was first discussed, Palmer said, “In the last year we have done a full renovation of this room. We have brand new flooring, we installed a three-compartment sink at kid height so they can wash dishes. We installed a center island with two ranges and fridges were donated as well. We have already started cooking classes and activities right here in this room.”
Palmer credited a former Boys & Girls Club of Brown County volunteer staffer, Vanessa Spivak, who has since returned, for getting the ball rolling on the idea.
“A former staff member who graduated from Howard Payne and went overseas for two years is now back is the one who actually started the cooking classes here,” Palmer said. “She was in this room, operating out of this room without any of these things. She was teaching full cooking classes with counter-top appliances – hot plates, plug-in skillets, they did brownies in toaster ovens. She’s back now and volunteering and teaching a cooking class and is following a Boys & Girls Club of America Healthy Habits curriculum.”
Palmer stated when she arrived at the club more than three years ago, two middle school students attended. Now, there is a waiting list with the max of 20 already attending. Those teens assisted in preparing food for Thursday’s ribbon cutting.
“Not only are the kids learning cooking skills like reading recipes, measuring the ingredients and washing the dishes, we’re also incorporating a curriculum that talks about building healthy habits in your everyday lifestyle, and there is a focus on healthy foods,” Palmer said.
