The Greensboro Farmers Curb Market (501 Yanceyville Street) is excited to announce Kitchen Connects GSO, a partnership with Out of the Garden Project and the Guilford County Cooperative Extension, and collaboration with the City of Greensboro made possible through a USDA Local Food Promotions (LFPP) grant.
Kitchen Connect GSO brings together Greensboro’s first shared-use kitchens, at Guilford County Cooperative Extension and Out of the Garden Project locations, with food safety and small business training classes to create a unique local food incubator program. The program’s goal is to provide opportunities for new value-added product startups to begin or expand their operations and increase the public’s access to and consumption of locally produced foods.
Participants will receive reduced-cost training in Safe Plate, a food safety and handling certification program, and basic small business classes in starting a food business finance, marketing and merchandising. After training, participants will be prepared to operate in a shared-used kitchen. The Market will offer specially designated Kitchen Connects GSO pilot sales tables for products to be sold.
Applicants with ideas and recipes for small batch, processed foods using locally-sourced ingredients are encouraged to apply through the website: www.kitchenconnectsgso.com. Second round applications are due by September 1, 2017. Scholarships are available based on income. The links for each shared-use kitchen can be found through links on the website.
In addition to Kitchen Connects GSO program, the LFPP grant allows the Market to establish a 900 square foot, well equipped demonstration kitchen in the Harvest Learning Cafe. Local chefs and community members will be invited present healthy recipes, using local market-sourced ingredients, for public demonstrations and tastings. Beginning in May, the Market will announce weekly events and invite the public to participate free of charge in these education opportunities.