Los Prietos Boys Camp was recently awarded a California Department of Education National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance grant of $73,834 to purchase new kitchen equipment. The juvenile probation camp’s Culinary Art’s Program had previously relied on 30-year-old appliances.
Part of Los Prietos’ mission is to offer teenage boys new opportunities while teaching them vocational skills, according to the boys camp webpage. “Youth will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience on all of the new kitchen equipment, as well as expand menus, which will add to the variety of nutritious meals the youth learn to prepare,” read the Santa Barbara County Probation Department’s press release. New energy-efficient appliances will reduce cooking time, increasing kitchen productivity and improving food safety, said the Probation Department.