The City of Staunton, in partnership with Staunton Creative Community Fund, announced the completion of the second phase of a three part initiative to bring a central shared-use commercial kitchen space to serve Staunton and the surrounding region.
A shared-use commercial kitchen is a kitchen facility where surrounding citizens, entrepreneurs, caterers and instructors can prepare, process and potentially sell their food products. The facility will serve as a hub for business incubation, nutrition education, culinary training and food processing.
Following the award in July of 2013, an Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) planning grant was used to study market demands and establish an operational framework for the shared-use facility. Now equipped with a business plan that outlays the structure, services, operational costs, and partners necessary to sustain the facility, a third and final phase of the project has begun to pull together funding and finalize a location for the facility.
“Through the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ AFID program, we are pleased to have the opportunity to explore the positive impact this facility would have on Staunton and the surrounding region”, said Billy Vaughn, Director of Staunton’s Economic Development Department. “With the right collaborative partnerships, this would be a great benefit to new and existing businesses in the community”.
For more information or a copy of the commercial kitchen study, contact Staunton Economic Development at 540.332.3869.
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Chris Graham
