By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
There are fewer than two dozen commercial kitchens in Kansas available for public use. Stafford County officials are trying to add to that number. Leaders are working to finalize a commercial kitchen at the county's annex building in St. John. Stafford County Eco Devo Director Ryan Russell said that could open the door to more opportunities for local food producers.
"They're a place where businesses that create food products can go and basically make their product because they're licensed kitchens for business use. A lot of people that make products at home to sell, they have to actually be present to sell the product. In a commercial kitchen, if they make it they can actually sell it more broadly."
Commercial codes largely revolve around fire safety, but also have requirements for sinks, temperature during food prep and packaging, and how cleaning supplies are stored. Once the kitchen is completed and licensed, the county could rent the space for licensed business owners.
"We have a number of people that make salsa, barbecue sauce, jams or jellies," Russell said. "We know some people who make canned soup. If they want to sell it more broadly, they're going to need to use a commercial kitchen so they can package it properly and ship it to different places."
The Stafford County Commission is paying for a door inside the annex to allow for greater access to the kitchen. Russell hopes to have the kitchen licensed and operational by early 2024. Before then, he hopes Eco Devo can raise as much as $10,000 through Giving Tuesday. The funds could go toward the purchase of a gas stove and other appliances specific to clientele, as well as programming around the kitchen with product marketing experts and packaging and labeling sessions with From the Land of Kansas.
Stafford County Eco Devo is an eligible non-profit for two foundations participating in Giving Tuesday. South Central Community Foundation is hosting its first Giving Tuesday on Nov. 28. Golden Belt Community Foundation is accepting donations all month long. Both foundations are eligible for a matching donation from the Patterson Family Foundation. Russell hopes to use that matching foundation to start an endowment for Eco Devo.
Other projects Stafford County Eco Devo could use the funds for include housing, value-added food product development, childcare, access to finance businesses, and non-profit organization development.