CRESTVIEW — Think of “school mixer” and images of student dances spring to mind. But at Richbourg E.S.E. School, teachers and students are happy to have a mixer of another kind.
“We have been blessed with a 20-quart mixer and stand,” life skills teacher Shirley Godbold said.
The three-speed, one-horsepower gear-driven commercial Avantco MX20 mixer is valued at $819 and takes up less room than a typical floor mixer. With its stand the equipment cost $1,056.49.
Godbold said Okaloosa County School District board member Dewey Destin purchased the mixer for the school from his discretionary funds.
The mixer had its first tests Thursday morning as students completed their last bread orders for the school year.
“It is fantastic,” Godbold said. “We made four complete batches of banana bread in one mix using 12 cups of flour, 6 cups sugar and 12 eggs.”
As life skills students prepare dough for their popular cookies and breads, they no longer have to make it in small batches in their standard KitchenAid mixer with its one-gallon bowl.
Sales of student-made cookies and breads help fund supplies for the special-needs students’ life skills classroom where they learn basic cooking techniques, cake and cookie decorating, kitchen cleanliness and hygiene, and home consumer skills.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa School Board member donates mixer to Richbourg