Stafford County Economic Development applied for and was awarded a Resilient Food Systems Grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Kansas Department of Agriculture. The $13,400 will go toward food processing equipment that will be available to businesses when they rent the commercial kitchen. The licensed commercial kitchen is inside the Stafford County Annex Building in St. John.
The equipment to be purchased includes a large bench-model mixer, four 15-quart pressure canners, four Harvest stainless steel pressure canners, a Bite grinder and juicer, a side-by-side refrigerator, an upright freezer, a gas range with pro-bake convection oven, and a portable steel dishwasher with a sanitizing option.
Stafford County Eco Devo is also hosting a meeting on Sept. 18 at the Stafford County Annex in St. John to discuss the Business Builder Grant and how companies can apply to held their food businesses. Eco Devo will host a training program tentatively scheduled for Nov. 1, in partnership with From the Land of Kansas, for value-added food businesses ready to go to the next level.
Businesses can contact Ryan Russell at ryan@staffordecodevo.com for more information about renting the commercial kitchen and the Business Builder Grant.