Greater awareness of the challenges food entrepreneurs and producers face in finding affordable commercial kitchen space has many communities studying ways to expand kitchen access. Opening Community Facilities to Food Entrepreneurs: Guidance for Communities and Facility Operators is a new resource that explains how to leverage underutilized kitchens in community buildings to help meet this need.

Communities that lack the entrepreneurial demand or capital funding for a new shared kitchen or business incubator often turn to existing kitchens in community buildings as an alternative. Renting out kitchens in places of worship, community halls, event centers, and educational buildings to entrepreneurs can help support local food economies and generate income for community-serving buildings and programs.

Renting kitchens designed for other purposes and housed in buildings with other primary uses involves special management and regulatory considerations. Among these are the suitability of the kitchen, regulatory requirements, compatibility between uses, and the capacity of the organization to manage rentals. Opening Community Facilities to Food Entrepreneurs: Guidance for Communities and Facility Operators tackles these concerns and offers guidance for facilities and communities weighing this option. It provides planners and other stakeholders with an overview of the benefits and limitations of utilizing existing kitchens and highlights Kitchen Connect programs and other strategies for expanding kitchen access. The guide also offers practical advice for facilities interested in launching a kitchen rental program, including key steps to take and descriptions of various management approaches.

Opening Community Facilities to Food Entrepreneurs is a free downloadable pdf published by Purdue University Extension in collaboration with Fruition Planning & Management thanks to funding from USDA North Central SARE.

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