Ready to Start a Food Biz (or Discover a New One)?

If you’ve been following our mad posts over on Facebook, you’ve been seeing us promote how and where to Shop Local this May—from local independently owned Main Street businesses to the farmers markets that help us put freshness on our own dinner tables.

But who are the folks behind the goodness of good locally grown food?

Meet one of them and one of our newest resource partners: The Farm to Table Kitchen, host to several small businesses that are putting together good eats and supporting foodpreneur here in Kansas City.

How Farm to Table Kitchen came to be . . .

The City Market has a long standing tradition of hosting a farmers' market that has evolved over the years to become the largest in Missouri. In 2010, the City Market received a grant from the Farmers' Market Promotion Program through the USDA to design, build, operate and promote use of a commercially licensed kitchen. When the Farm to Table Kitchen was established, the City Market outlined a goal to create an educational hub for the farmers' market.

What they do . . .

Each Saturday during peak season, the Farm to Table Kitchen transforms into a place patrons can visit to learn about food safety, general nutrition and food preparation.

Through partnerships with the University of Missouri Extension and the Farmers' Market Coalition's "Discover You Can" program, it offers vibrant programming to engage farmers' market patrons. On any Saturday, stop by the kitchen for recipes, food samples, and cooking demonstrations.

More than education, incubation . . .

In addition to its educational programming, the Farm to Table Kitchen is an incubator for small businesses--a total of nine farmers' market vendors and caterers use the kitchen to make their unique products and eight food trucks use the kitchen for their commissary. Not to mention, the kitchen is frequently rented by community organizations and chefs to host their own private cooking classes.

Look who's cooking . . .

Here are just a few of the startups and foodpreneuers who have already benefited from the services of the Farm to Table Kitchen. Check them out on Facebook, on the web and at the farmers market. 

Esther's African Cuisine
Geaux Catering
Heirloom Bakery & Hearth
LA's Cuisine Catering
Soup Kitchen 501 (Food Truck)
Warriors Fuel
Wood & Salt

For more information about the Farm to Table Kitchen, contact Jennifer Lewis: jlewis@thecitymarket.org