Instead of an “Extreme Makeover” for a home, this time it’s a makeover for a kitchen.

At the end of January, staff and students of Glenville-Emmons High School found out they were the winners of a $40,000 lunch line makeover through the Minnesota School Nutrition Association and Owatonna-based Learning ZoneXpress.

Much like the hit ABC TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” the Extreme Cafeteria Makeover will revamp an old, unattractive space into a fresh, new and clean space for people to enjoy.

Glenville-Emmons Superintendent Mark Roubinek and Food Services Manager Diane Minear applied for the makover to see if they could do something about the brown tile floor, exposed heating vents, battered tables and a mishmash of serving equipment at the school.

Minear said appearance plays a big part in how students perceive the quality of the food on the school’s menu. The school’s kitchen has pretty much been the same since the 1950s.

Through the makeover, the school will get new serving equipment, nutrition education products, staff uniforms and expert consultation.

“I was the most excited person ever,” Minear said of hearing the school had been chosen for the makeover. “You’d thought I’d won the lottery.”

Roubinek and Minear said staff from the school are meeting with the design makeover crew toward the end of February to do some more planning for the project.

Planning goes from February through May, and then as soon as school’s out, crews will come in and start the project. It will be completed before students come back in the fall.

Roubinek said he doesn’t know about a lot of the details at this stage and he is unsure whether there will be additions made to the school or just renovations of the old space.

“It’s a little different than the one on TV where they come in and bulldoze the place,” Roubinek said.

One thing that is like the “Extreme Makeover” television show, however, is that there will be local electricians, plumbers and contractors who will help make it possible. If any businesses would like to make a donation to the effort, the superintendent encouraged them to call the school.

The school district will also make a commitment of about $10,000 for the project — money which will be coming from donations and fundraisers, Roubinek said.

Between 160 and 180 seventh- through 12th- graders come through the line at the school every day, Minear said.

“We’re extremely happy,” she said. “The school’s happy. The kids are happy. Everyone’s just extremely excited.”

Glenville-Emmons was selected out of 19 applications.

“The school foods landscape has never been more challenging,” said Jean Ronnei, president of the Minnesota School Nutrition Association, in a news release. “We have seen double digit price increases for basic foods that are required to prepare and serve nutritious school meals at a time when parent requests for healthy options are at an all-time high.”

The Extreme Cafeteria Makeover was launched last October to acknowledge these challenges, the release stated. While the makeover will directly benefit Glenville-Emmons, it also will expand the collective knowledge about innovative food-service solutions for tough economic times.

The prize package features the following:

Learning ZoneXpress will provide innovative nutrition education posters and other products.

Duke Manufacturing will provide high-quality serving line equipment.

inTEAM Associates will provide a two-day consultation on a critical function like food safety or staff training.

Brandaids will provide staff uniforms embroidered with the school logo.

Cambro will provide new lunch rays, tongs and other serving products.

“A makeover like this, with new equipment, training and fun educational products, has the potential to increase the number of students who eat school lunch every day,” said Ronnei, who leads the nationally-recognized child nutrition program at St. Paul Public Schools. “An increase in revenue can certainly offset rising food prices and will also educate others about the value of operational investments.”

Information about the contest can be found at www.mnsna.org or www.learningzonexpress.com.

Glenville-Emmons High School can be reached at 448-2889.