Burlington County Library reopens cafe in partnership with Special Services School District

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For the first time in more than five years, the cafe at the Burlington County Library’s main branch in Westampton will be staffed. Under a partnership between the library and the Burlington County Special Services School District, Transitions School students will run the Community Blend at Bestseller’s Café.

Library patrons can purchase snacks, sandwiches and beverages prepared by the students, who will learn job skills and gain work experience, officials said.

Burlington County Library System Director Ranjna Das said that more libraries in New Jersey are offering café services but Burlington County is one of the first to partner with the school district to provide opportunities to students with special needs.

She credited a former library commissioner for connecting with the school, which applied for and received a $1.4 million grant from the state Department of Education to expand programming. A portion of the grant received funded the equipment needed at the café and across the property at the Transitions School, where most of the food is prepared.

“She knew that we had a need for a cafe service, so she really just connected the two groups,” she said. “After that, it was just a matter of making it all happen.”

Prior to Tuesday’s café opening, students were preparing sandwiches, cookies and cupcakes at the school. The library and the school share the same property, along with the Burlington County Institute of Technology.

Michael Romano, a culinary instructor at the school, said working with the students brings “a whole other level of” gratefulness.

“Seeing how excited they are to learn new skills, things that they can take home, things that they can show their mom and dad, or things that they can do in their group home and share with everybody in their house, it’s really special,” he said.

The library launched the café in the late 1990s. It became the central feature after an expansion in 2012. When staffing the cafe ended a few years later, vending machines were installed.

Money made at the café will go to the school district to help fund student activities.