Recipient Organization
LOCAL AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY EXCHANGE
159 NORTH MAIN STREET
BARRE,VT 05641
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Before LACE (Local Agricultural Community Exchange) opened its doors in 2007, The City of Barre in Central Vermont lacked a supermarket or walkable place to purchase healthy food products, and citizens had few opportunities to buy local food. The City and region have high unemployment, a relatively high percentage of people living below poverty, and a high number of immigrants and refugees. There is a need for opportunities to develop food-related businesses and a large number of budding entrepreneurs in the area, and this is what the Community Kitchen at LACE intends to facilitate. LACE's Community Kitchen will provide a rentable commercial, certified kitchen facility for farmers, food processors, caterers and others interested in developing food products for the marketplace. The Kitchen Program assists entrepreneurs through business planning and marketing assistance, and helps them build their business, their skills and their product with ample technical assistance available through the shared-use commercial kitchen incubator model. In addition to renting the kitchen to entrepreneurs and providing these services to help them build their businesses, the LACE Community Kitchen will offer classes and workshops to the general public in food processing, cooking, and the culinary use of local foods among other topics. It will be a space available for rent for other classes, presentations and public events.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The over-arching goal of the Community Kitchen Incubator Project is to put money back into the community and the land. We want to increase profitability of our local farms, and provide opportunities for employment within the low-income and at-risk populations in the Barre community. We want to educate our community on how they can eat and prepare local, nutritious food year round, and we want to increase their ability to access local foods. With the Community Kitchen Incubator, we will provide: 1. Low-cost entry to market for farms and micro-business owners wishing to market value-added food products through shared-use processing facilities and equipment; 2. Food preparation and associated training and education to assist our micro-businesses in producing high-quality, safe, and marketable products; 3. Business development training, marketing and financial management support to increase potential likelihood of long term success of newly established and existing micro-businesses using the Community Kitchen Incubator; 4. Educational opportunities and skill building sessions for members of the community to expand their skill sets within the culinary field; and 5. Education for families and individuals on how to prepare nutritious meals made from fresh, local ingredients year-round. Intended Outcomes: 1. Broad use of Community Kitchen Incubator by members of the agricultural community, and low-income/at-risk populations for business development; 2. The establishment of new micro-businesses as an outcome of having access to and using the Community Kitchen Incubator; 3. Increased culinary and life skills due to educational programming - classes and workshops - offered in at the Community Kitchen; 4. Increased employment in the culinary arts sector due to skill building workshops offered at the Community Kitchen; 5. Improvement in the health and lifestyle choices of the community's low-income and at-risk population as a result of attending food preparation and preservation classes; 6. Increased income at the existing farms and businesses that establish new value-added products through the use of the Community Kitchen Incubator and educational programming; and 7. Increased local products available for sale at the Farm Fresh Market and in retail markets throughout the community.
Project Methods
The proposed project outcomes will be realized by first following and implementing the business plan that was developed for the project. The first step to implementing the project was to secure the funding necessary to build the kitchen. This has been accomplished through the CVCAC OCS grant. Construction is complete. Ongoing fundraising to acquire the kitchen equipment and support the educational programming and project operating expenses while the program is established, will continue. Following construction, the kitchen will be outfitted with a Continuous Feed Hobart Processor, Double Compartment Steamer, Grain Mill, (2) 30 Qt Pressure Canners, Large Walk-in Cooler, Meat Grinder, Heavy Duty Stainless Steel Slicer, Gas Fryer, Double Stacked Convection Ovens, 40 Gal Steam Kettle, 30 Gal Tilt Skillet. As we complete construction and equipment is purchased, CVCAC and LACE staff will begin providing technical assistance, counseling, and training to newly established and expanding businesses wishing to utilize the kitchen. This is underway currently. CVCAC will also provide assistance in recruiting and referring low-income and unemployed individuals, and participants of Vermont's Reach Up (TANF) program to participate in the project. LACE, with the assistance of the Food Works at Two Rivers Center and VT Food Venture Center Director, will begin providing food education programming, and LACE and CVCAC staff will oversee the day-to-day operation and management of the facility and project. LACE has an executive director, a PR and programs director, and will hire a full-time business manager in May/June 2009 to assist existing staff to perform the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities associated with running the project. Tasks for staff include managing the facilities, coordinating training and educational programming, marketing, office work, and scheduling and implementing educational programs and facility rental to entrepreneurs and others using the facility. With the program ready for the general public in early 2009, marketing the availability of the Community Kitchen Incubator, complementary training, business services, and educational programming will begin and efforts will be ongoing. Marketing will be done via word of mouth, brochures, calendar listings, flyers posted in key community locations, and via the LACE website. CVCAC and LACE will jointly issue and coordinate PR for press releases, radio shows, and community events. Paid advertising in local and regional newspapers will also be done. The final steps will be to continue updating, revising and implementing the business plan to ensure long term sustainability of the project, and to evaluate and monitor project development, implementation and outcomes. As part of this step, LACE and CVCAC are collaborating on a program evaluation that will include formative and summative evaluations to document how the project and partnerships evolve over time and to assess the effectiveness of the Community Kitchen in producing our anticipated outcomes. The evaluation includes customer and client surveys; focus groups; and interviews, and outcomes will be documented in annual reports.