Shared Kitchen Resources
Prep & Prosper Shared Kitchen Workbook
Whether you’re launching a new shared kitchen or refining existing operations, the Prep & Prosper Shared Kitchen Workbook is your key to informed decision making and revenue generation.
Shared Kitchen Operations Manual
Operate like a pro with the Shared Kitchen Operations Manual – the most comprehensive set of policies and procedures out there, based on the most successful shared kitchens in the industry.
Attract More Tenants
Looking for new members to fill your space? The Kitchen Door is where food businesses search for kitchens. Claim your listing, add your info, and double the chance a food business reaches out!
Join the Shared Kitchen Community
The NICK is a free, private group of kitchen professionals who exchange best practices, share frustrations, offer encouragement, and solve problems together.
Our Publications
Your compass to defining your kitchen’s services and policies for a sustainable, profitable business model that aligns with your goals. Glean expert guidance to your most common operator questions.
The most comprehensive set of policies and procedures out there – based on the most successful shared kitchens in the industry. It’s an out of the box solution that will help you run your kitchen like a seasoned pro!
This report provides exclusive insights into the latest market trends for shared-use kitchens, summarizing the available proprietary information from The Food Corridor and The Kitchen Door. The report includes the most comprehensive market insights available, pulling data from March 2019 to March 2020.
A free guide to starting a new shared-use or incubator kitchen and managing the operations of it. It provides an overview of emerging kitchen models and highlights opportunities to expand their community impact and enhance financial sustainability. It was developed by The Food Corridor, in partnership with Fruition Planning & Management and Purdue Extension Services and made possible by a grant from the USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, North Central Region.
The Food Corridor and a Steering Committee of 10 NICK members explored the national policy landscape for shared-use kitchens. They identified the best practices and policies to support the industry in navigating local health departments, conflicting state and county policy, and inadequate licensing options.
This report provides a snapshot of today’s shared food facility industry, presents a view into the industry’s future trajectory, and highlights best practices and recommendations for improving outcomes for entrepreneurs and operators. In addition to sharing data and recommendations, this report seeks to put shared kitchens into greater context as operations with the potential to play an outsized role in expanding the inclusive economy – bringing entrepreneurs that face significant barriers to entry into the fold of supportive business ecosystems.
Business Development
A community for food artisans and entrepreneurs with a mission of providing up-to-date industry news as well as the regulatory, business, and strategic information needed to successfully compete in today’s marketplace.
Create, connect, support, and share the extraordinary experience of specialty food with the world. Join for access to exclusive membership benefits.
Enables and empowers entrepreneurial leaders to design, deliver and lead transformative innovations that address the world’s most pressing food challenges—and its greatest business opportunities.
Helps you develop and commercialize high-value products and businesses in the food, agricultural and natural resource sectors.
A Project of the Northside Planning Council, this is a template for sections to include in a shared-use kitchen business plan.
Education
Their five undergraduate schools award Bachelor’s degrees in food business management, culinary science, and applied food studies; associate degrees in either culinary arts or baking and pastry arts; and an accelerated culinary arts certificate.
Enables and empowers entrepreneurial leaders to design, deliver and lead transformative innovations that address the world’s most pressing food challenges—and its greatest business opportunities.
For food retailers, wholesalers and suppliers of all types and sizes, FMI leads the way in providing comprehensive programs, resources, guidance, advocacy and services for the food and grocery retail industry.
Information for anyone interested in undertaking an online cooking course to improve their basic cooking abilities, through gaining full-on professional kitchen experience.
Funding, Accelerators, & Incubators
AngelCalc models the conversion of safes and/or convertible notes during an equity financing. It uses techniques similar to those used by Microsoft Excel to make its calculations.
Accelerator that builds a networking and mentoring platform to enable the best entrepreneurs to revolutionize the way we produce and distribute food globally. Accepts both for- and non-profit business models.
Funding sources for food-related businesses.
USDA resources to support local and regional food systems.
General Resources
Very comprehensive toolkit for rural food business development, including: commercial and shared-use kitchens, value-add processing, distribution, business incubation, food safety, networks and other tools.
The site of record and community for the food tech and innovation sector. They give innovators the tech and business insights, connections, job postings, and skills you need to transform the food industry.
Kitchen Operations & Best Practices
Provides a comprehensive set of tools, technical support, and verification system to assist institutions in meeting their Program goals and commitments.
Started by Northern Kentucky Incubator Kitchen’s Rachel Grubbs de Rochers, this podcast series covers “intimate conversations for the foodpreneur community”.
Guidance for Communities and Facility Operators. This is a free guide for existing kitchens in community-serving facilities, such as religious buildings and community centers, to provide kitchen access to food entrepreneurs. It provides practical steps for establishing a rental program, profiles Kitchen Connect programs, and highlights ways stakeholders can support kitchen access. It was developed by Fruition Planning & Management and Purdue Extension Services and made possible by a grant from the USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, North Central Region.
Marketing & Distribution
Post your shared kitchen or find licensed, commercial kitchens for rent near you!
Put CPG products in front of thousands of retail buyers – instantly.
Create FDA-compliant nutrition fact labels, recipe costing, and inventory management.
For food retailers, wholesalers and suppliers of all types and sizes, FMI leads the way in providing comprehensive programs, resources, guidance, advocacy and services for the food and grocery retail industry.
The Market Research for Market Readiness (MKTRD) Protocol is based on consumer testing and designed to help entrepreneurial food makers and value-added farmers evaluate the products they are developing for market. This toolkit includes a manual, an Excel workbook, and several training videos
Integrity Labeling prepares Nutrition Facts, Ingredient Statements, Nutrient Content Claims and Allergen Statements that are FDA Compliant and design-ready to insert into your label design, in just 3-5 business days.
Safety & Sanitation
Enables users to search NACCHO’s Local Health Department (LHD) Directory by zip code.
A process authority evaluates the thermal process for food with expert knowledge of thermal process, hermetically sealed containers, and food microbiology. Registry available by state.
A food and beverage safety training and certificate program administered by the National Restaurant Association. The program is accredited by ANSI and the Conference for Food Protection. Sanitation certification is required as a basic credential for anyone producing food for sale.
All wholesale manufacturers, re-packers and warehouses must comply with the FDA’s Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 21, section 110.
Open source food safety plans, free and unrestricted public viewing, commenting, downloading, sharing, revision, and use.
Shared-Use Kitchens
A guide to starting shared‐use kitchens as an affordable venue for new and existing value‐added food production entrepreneurs, farmers and caterers. Published September 2014 by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, in collaboration with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
Econsult Solutions, Inc. (ESI), along with American Communities Trust and Urbane Development conducted a survey assessing the landscape of U.S. kitchen incubators/accelerators. Published March 2016.
March 2016
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