Community kitchens that support licensed, commercial food processing activities allow specialty food processors, farmers, caterers, and others to produce value-added goods at relatively low cost. Kitchen clients pay for the time they use the kitchen and frequently share their expertise with each other. Such community kitchens meet city, state, and federal health guidelines and can be run by many types of organizations including non-profits, private for-profit groups, universities, and state governments (UW CIAS-Kitchens).
Expected Beneficial Outcomes (Rated)
Strengthened local & regional food systems
Other Potential Beneficial Outcomes
Increased food security
Improved local economy
Evidence of Effectiveness
Community kitchens that support licensed food processing are a suggested strategy to strengthen local and regional food systems (USDA-Community facilities), increase food security (USDA-CFPCGP), and enhance local economies (UW CIAS-Kitchens). A West Philadelphia-based report suggests community kitchens may support business development and food entrepreneurship, job creation, and neighborhood revitalization (Heeger 2014). Additional evidence is needed to confirm effects.
Interviews with community kitchen organizers suggest that having clear goals, knowledge of community-specific interest, detailed plans for addressing overhead costs and long-term profitability, and committed leadership with strong partnerships are key factors for success (UW CIAS-Kitchens, Topaloff 2014).
Impact on Disparities
Implementation Examples
As of 2017, there are 726 community kitchens that support licensed food processing in the US registered with CulinaryIncubator.com (Culinary incubator).
Implementation Resources
AgMRC-Kitchens - Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC). Kitchen incubators.
UW-FBIN - Food Business Innovation Network (FoodBIN). Resources for incubators.
Topaloff 2014 - Topaloff A. The shared-use kitchen planning toolkit. Leopold Center Pubs and Papers. 2014.
LHC-Rockeymoore 2014 - Rockeymoore M, Moscetti C, Fountain A. Rural Childhood Obesity Prevention Toolkit. Leadership for Healthy Communities (LHC), Center for Global Policy Solutions, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 2014.
Citations - Evidence
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USDA-Community facilities - US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Community facilities programs.
USDA-CFPCGP - US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program (CFPCGP).
UW CIAS-Kitchens - Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS). Community kitchens: Key elements of success (Research brief #54).
Heeger 2014 - Heeger B. Cooking up success: The Enterprise Center-CDC and leveraging the food industry for community development. Social Innovations Journal. 2014.
Topaloff 2014 - Topaloff A. The shared-use kitchen planning toolkit. Leopold Center Pubs and Papers. 2014.
Citations - Implementation Examples
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Culinary incubator - Culinary Incubator. The source in shared part-time commercial kitchen rentals.
Related What Works for Health Strategies
To see citations and implementation resources for this strategy, visit:
countyhealthrankings.org/take-action-to-improve-health/what-works-for-health/strategies/community-kitchens-for-food-processing
To see all strategies:
countyhealthrankings.org/whatworks