A $1.4 million state grant is funding a new café service at the Burlington County Library in Westampton, where students with disabilities are learning workplace skills.

“The partnership with the Burlington County Library creates meaningful opportunities that empower students and strengthen the community,” Ashanti Holley, superintendent of Burlington County Special Services School District/Burlington County Institute of Technology, said in a statement. “It gives students real-world experience, building skills and confidence for success.”

A portion of the grant paid for ovens and a broiler at the Burlington County Special Services School District, as well as beverage dispensers and a cold vending machine at the library. The program provides students between the ages of 18 to 21 with life skills and job training, officials said.

“The Burlington County Library System and Burlington County Special Services School are both essential to this goal,” County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel said. “By partnering together, they are enhancing the library and creating new opportunities for students to interact and learn skills that will help them find work, live independently and pursue their dreams.”

The café marks the return of staffed food service at the main library for the first time in more than five years, the county said.

It launched a café in the late 1990s and was a central feature of the building’s lobby expansion in 2012. The staffed service ended a few years later and was replaced with lobby vending machines.

“Bringing back the café is another valuable service that will help encourage more people to visit the library and take advantage of its materials and programs,” Ranjna Das, the county library system director, said. “It’s a great partnership that’s making the library even more attractive.”

The funding is also being used for the school’s students to attend classes at Rowan College at Burlington County and to purchase virtual reality equipment for workplace training.

“The Transitions School program has helped hundreds of students from across Burlington County learn skills needed to find work and live independently,” state Sen. Troy Singleton said in a statement. “This new partnership with the library is creating even more opportunities for students to get the training and experience needed for future success.”

The Burlington County Library System includes 15 libraries in one of the largest geographic counties in the state.

“Every New Jersey student should have opportunities to reach their highest potential, regardless of their zip code or their family’s income, and I’m excited to support programs like this one that help Burlington County students learn valuable job and life skills,” state Assemblywoman Andrea Katz said.

The café offers a full menu of coffees, drinks, sandwiches, soups and bakery items. It is open most weekdays during the school calendar year from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

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