Kitchen Connect: Reflecting, Evolving, and What's Next

Kitchen Connect began in 2021 with a simple but powerful vision: to address a gap in our local food economy by creating a shared space where small-scale local food production could thrive. After two years of fundraising, planning, and building community support, that vision became reality. In October 2023, we opened the doors to our 1,800 sq ft commercial kitchen—a space designed for creativity, collaboration, and growth.

Since then, the kitchen has been buzzing with activity. Bakers, ice cream makers, food truck owners, caterers, and hot sauce producers have brought their ideas to life here, accessing certified kitchen space, learning food safety best practices, sourcing local ingredients, and finding new ways to reach customers through South Island FarmHub.

In just 18 months of commissary kitchen operations, Kitchen Connect supported the production of thousands of locally made products, managed certified kitchen space for 35 food businesses, delivered startup coaching to 13 new ventures, and created hands-on training and work experience opportunities that equipped 11 community members with the skills to pursue careers in our local food system: contributing to a more connected, resilient local food system. 

Following a strategic review in early 2025, the Victoria Community Food Hub Society decided to conclude its operation of the large-scale kitchen, to refocus efforts on our mission-aligned programming. This review helped us better understand where we could make the biggest difference in building a strong and equitable food economy.  Over several months 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. We’re proud to welcome Flourish! School Food Society as the new leaseholders of the kitchen facility, where they’ll make good use of the infrastructure and investments in the space to expand their program nourishing underserved youth through provision of uplifting school meals.   

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 and food business 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.  

We invite local food entrepreneurs, community partners, and supporters to connect with us as we shape this next chapter. Together, we can continue building a food system where everyone, from small producers to community members in need, can thrive.

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.