Start a Food Business in Kansas City with These Resources
Looking for help to turn your passion into profit and start a food business in Kansas City? Although many entrepreneurs gravitate toward food businesses, these startups are among the most difficult to launch, grow and maintain. Luckily, the KC metro has some great food-based resources to support your enterprise. Here are some commercial kitchens, accelerators, classes, experts and local health departments to help get you started.
Feeling overwhelmed and want some customized help for your unique needs? Just give KCSourceLink a call at 816-235-6500 or let us know what you need here, and we’ll craft your very own set of next steps and the experts and organizations in the KC metro that can help. All of our services are free.
Now, here are those Kansas City food business resources:
Cultivate KC
300 E. 39th St., Kansas City, Missouri
Supporting a sustainable and healthy local food system is the mission of this nonprofit that began in 2005 as the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture. The organization helps growers increase their capacity for production and/or distribution through mini-grants, water access funding, workshops, classes and advocating for policy reform.
Ennovation Center
201 N. Forest Ave. #120, Independence, Missouri
The Ennovation Center is a 30,000-square-foot business development incubator housing six shared commercial kitchen spaces with commercial-grade equipment available to food manufacturers, caterers and specialty seasonal food producers as well as a business and tech area featuring dedicated workspace, offices, office suites and eight wet labs rated for bio-safety level 1. The business technologies incubator provides technology-based businesses, science-based organizations, service-based companies and not-for-profits a supportive community to grow. The staff offers on-site assistance and connects client companies to a network of resources.
Food Innovation Accelerator
K-State Olathe, 22201 W. Innovation Drive, Olathe, Kansas
Expertise, specialization and professional facilities are at the heart of K-State Olathe’s Food Innovation Accelerator, which features five kitchens organized by equipment and cooking needs. The incubator’s small-business clients also have access to valuable services including quality, nutritional and microbial testing (through the Kansas Value Added Foods Lab), product consulting, help with regulatory and food safety issues and assistance for scaling a business.
More on the Food Innovation Accelerator
Kanbe’s Markets
3119 Terrace St. Kansas City, Missouri
In Kansas City’s underserved communities, locally owned convenience stores, gas stations and corner bodegas often struggle to provide their customers with affordable, healthy food options. To help end food insecurity and support the local economy, Kanbe’s Markets provides coolers and daily deliveries of fresh fruits and vegetables to small businesses, allowing those entrepreneurs to sell the products on consignment and keep 30% of the shared revenue.
Kansas Department of Agriculture Incubator Kitchen Resource Guide
This informative guide provides food-centered founders with a list of Kansas facilities offering cost-effective commercial kitchen space and equipment for short-term rental.
More on the Incubator Kitchen Resource Guide
Mid-Continent Public Library Culinary Center
Green Hills Library Center, 8581 N. Green Hills Road, Kansas City, Missouri
Food entrepreneurs of all types are welcome at the Mid-Continent Public Library Culinary Center slated to open in 2023. Here, you’ll find rentable commercial kitchens for preparing, selling and sampling food and teaching and demonstration spaces supporting public culinary programs. The Culinary Center team works hand-in-hand with MCPL’s Square One Small Business and Workforce Development Services to walk founders through the processes of starting or growing a food business.
More about the MCPL Culinary Center
The Prospect KC
2000 Vine St., Suite 1D, Kansas City, Missouri
At Prospect KC, food and social equality unite through nutritional education, kitchen culinary training and entrepreneurship support for adults and youths in disenfranchised communities.
Local Health Departments
These government agencies provide entrepreneurs in the Kansas City metro with food handler and safety classes, certifications, business permits and more.
City of Kansas City Health Department
414 E. 12th St., Kansas City, Missouri
Independence Health Department
111 E. Maple Ave. Independence, Missouri
Johnson County Community Health Services
111 S. Cherry St. Olathe, Kansas
Jackson County (food-related resources)
415 E. 12th St., Kansas City, Missouri
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