About
Promoting collaboration over competition.
Kitchen Connect
Endless Possibilities
Kitchen Connect is an initiative of the Victoria Community Food Hub Society (VCFHS), a charity with the mandate “Good food for all.” We support local food entrepreneurs, foster connections with local farms and suppliers, host community workshops, and deliver kitchen skills training and work experience programs.
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We are located in the Food Security Distribution Centre in Victoria - a food-focused space owned by the Mustard Seed, a charity that rescues over 10,000 pounds of food daily and distributes it to social service agencies. The warehouse also houses our sister initiative South Island FarmHub, a local produce aggregator and online farmer's market, and Flourish! School Food Society, a charity which supports school meal and food literacy programs.
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Kitchen Connect began in 2021 as a vision to address a gap in the local food economy through a shared processing facility. After two years of fundraising and development, our 1800 sq ft commercial kitchen opened in October 2023. Since then, we’ve supported over 35 local food makers - from bakers to ice cream makers to food trucks, caterers and hot sauce makers - helping them develop food safety and workflow plans, access certified kitchen space, local ingredients, and distribution to customers through FarmHub, all under one roof. We also offered training and work experience programs, contributing to a more connected, resilient local food system.
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Following a strategic review, VCFHS decided to conclude its operation of the large-scale kitchen after June 2025, to refocus efforts on our mission-aligned programming. We’re proud to welcome Flourish! School Food Society as the new leaseholders of the facility, where they’ll expand their program nourishing underserved youth through provision of uplifting school meals. We have worked closely with the food entrepreneurs using the kitchen to help them transition to alternative kitchen spaces both within and beyond the Food Security Distribution Centre.
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Moving forward, Kitchen Connect will refine its programming to better support small-scale and equity-deserving entrepreneurs - connecting them with infrastructure, training and markets that suit their scale and production. We’ll continue to offer kitchen skills training, volunteer opportunities, employment readiness programs, and co-packing services for farmers, all advancing shared goals for food recovery, distribution, resilience and access for those most vulnerable in our communities, including schools.
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Our commitment remains the same: supporting food security, local food systems, and community resilience. We are deeply grateful to our partners and supporters for being part of this journey with us. We look forward to continuing this work, together building a stronger, more inclusive food future for our region.
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Good Food for All
Our Mission
To promote a healthy and sustainable food system in the Capital Region.
Ensuring that our food system provides healthy food to the most vulnerable people in our community and works to increase their resources, food skills, and social connections for a healthier food secure future.
The Vision
Kitchen Connect will bring together facilities, equipment, training, and services to grow and strengthen the local food economy.
How We Are Different
The model strives to further innovative collaboration between food rescue initiatives, local farmers, and food processors.
What We Do
We aim to support food processing entrepreneurs, farmers, social innovators, marginalized populations, and community members through shared access to infrastructure, programming, and resources.
The Victoria Community Food Hub Society (VCFHS) was incorporated as a Charity in 2013.
Food Connections
Food Connections is an upcoming program that incorporates supported skills development and training program centering on Indigenous, racialized, newcomers, and low income participants to undertake activities like food handling, sorting, light vegetable processing and food recipe creation. The program aims to support their skills development and employability, and to launch their own food enterprise initiatives.
The training incubator and shared kitchens elevate the Mustard Seed and Victoria Community Food Hub’s capacity to distribute food through 70 Food Charity organizations and to three School Districts for school meal programs.