For over 2 years a group of food entrepreneurs and community members has been working on planning a community catering and food processing kitchen that will be available to rent by small scale food entrepreneurs. Their intention is to build the Finger Lakes Community Kitchen in space adjacent to the new Neighborhood Pride store on Hancock Street. The space to be developed will be a 3,300 SF licensed kitchen facility with multiple work stations and cook stoves, processing equipment, and storage space to accommodate multiple users at a time. The kitchen will serve both start up food businesses and provide a professional commissary with new equipment for established businesses to rent. The kitchen will also be available for cooking and food safety classes.
The group working on the project is forming an LLC and is in the process of securing funding from a variety of sources including grants and loans. Preliminary designs and cost estimates have been obtained but much more work needs to be done. To this end, a public meeting has been planned for Thursday, April 18, 5:30-7:30 PM at the Greenstar Space located at the west end of Court Street off Rt. 13.
Finger Lakes Community Kitchen organizers will present work that has been done to date. Potential users, kitchen supporters and interested citizens are invited to attend and provide input on the design, layout, equipment that is needed, plus learn about how to become involved as a supporter, member of the LLC, or user. Kirby Edmonds, who is facilitating the development of this project, indicates this is a critical time for input so that the kitchen reflects the needs of food businesses in the community.
Come to learn more on April 18, 5:30 PM at the Space. Enjoy light refreshments, and provide input into the kitchen development. RSVP to Cooperative Extension if you would like to attend – 272-2292 or email mr55@cornell.edu.
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