Shared-Use Community Kitchen in Saco
Starting your own food business? Don’t know where to begin?
Community kitchens are now available in Alfred and Saco. These are fully-licensed commercial kitchens, equipped for your cooking or preparation needs. We provide the necessary and required training to create your home recipe
into a product you can sell. We will help you with recipe development and business planning.
or
Partnered with University of Maine Food Science Department, Small Business
Administration, and Women, Work, and Community
What Is A Shared-Use
Community Kitchen?
A shared use kitchen provides food entrepreneurs, farmers, fishermen, growers, cooks, and bakers an opportunity to use modern commercial kitchen equipment that meets all the requirements for state and federal regulations for a licensed kitchen facility. Community kitchens are already available for use at the Notre Dame Bakery in Alfred and at the Shaker Hill Kitchens on 17 Thornton Avenue in Saco.
With its rural heritage and its focus on self-sufficiency and pride in healthy, locally produced home-made products, Maine is a prime location to encourage entrepreneurs to expand their kitchen creations, or market their produce. Because many low and moderate income producers can not handle the cost of expensive equipment that would be mandated for state licensing of food products, the idea of sharing equipment and a licensed kitchen facility just makes sense. The York County Shelter Programs, Inc. has already had over a dozen individuals contact them about using the proposed incubator kitchen when it opens.
The York County Shelter Programs is extremely grateful to all the individuals and agencies that have lent their support to the Community Kitchen concept. Rosemary Baldacci has worked with York County Community Action and York County Shelter Programs promoting this project and looking for funding resources. On February 5, 2007, Saco area businesses and legislators were invited to an Informational Meeting at the Shaker Hill Bakery and Cafe. A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place as members of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce and representatives from the York County Shelter Programs posed for a group photo. At the get-together several individuals spoke including Mayor Johnston, local attorney and York County Shelter Programs’ Board member, Ron Caron, Rosemary Baldacci, David Beseda, Don Gean, and Mark Hews. Other key individuals involved in the project have included Tom Nelson and Barbara Crider from the York County Community Action and Connie and Alan Young from the University of Maine at Orono and Maine’s Shared Use Kitchen Coalition.
Shared-use Community Kitchen in Saco
Jennifer Sporzynski from Coastal Enterprises Inc. brought some individuals to the Shared-Use Kitchen who were interested in learning more about the operation on January 10, 2008. Standing from left: Harun Sheekhey and Safio Mohamed. Seated from left: Jennifer Sporzynski and York County Shelter Programs’ Food Services Director Martha Huestis.
Donna Sano (seated in front) is the first individual entrepreneur to use the Shared-Use Community Kitchen in Saco. Back from left: Don Gean, Rosemary Baldacci, Janet Goba, and Martha Huestis.
With its rural heritage and its focus on self-sufficiency and pride in healthy, locally produced home-made products, Maine is a prime location to encourage entrepreneurs to expand their kitchen creations, or market their produce. Because many low and moderate income producers can not handle the cost of expensive equipment that would be mandated for state licensing of food products, the idea for sharing equipment and a licensed kitchen facility just makes sense.
A shared-use kitchen provides food entrepreneurs, farmers, fishermen, growers, cooks, and bakers an opportunity to use modern commercial kitchen equipment that meets all the requirements for state and federal regulations for a licensed kitchen facility. People interested in learning more about the community kitchen, should contact Martha Huestis at 207-324-8811.
A community kitchen is already available for use at the Notre Dame Bakery in Alfred. The shared-use kitchen at Shaker Hill Kitchens at 17 Thornton Avenue in Saco opened in January of 2008. It is the first licensed community kitchen in the state of Maine. Many individuals have expressed an interest in learning more about the shared-use kitchen in Saco. Harmon’s Clam Cakes has already begun using the kitchen on several days each month.
Individuals seem to appreciate the fact that this newly renovated licensed kitchen in Saco will be available to use twenty-four hours a day. There have been inquiries about the possibility of making such items as pickle products, vegan whoopie pies, and granola.
The York County Shelter Programs has worked with several other agencies and groups (Community Action, University of Maine at Orono Food Science Department, Maine Department of Agriculture, Maine Shared-Use Kitchen Coalition, and Women, Work, and Community) so that entrepreneurs can develop a free business plan and take advantage of all the knowledge and support systems that are available to learn about such aspects as proper food preparation, marketing, storage, labeling, recipes, insurance, regulations, etc. Some of the individuals who have worked very hard to see this kitchen materialize in Saco include Rosemary Baldacci, David Beseda, Don Gean, and Martha Huestis.
Shared Use Community Kitchen in Alfred
Jennifer Ciccotelli operates her vegan
baked goods business called “Sweet
Philosophy” at the Community Kitchen
in Alfred. She sells three kinds of vegan whoopie pies - plain, peanut butter, and
molasses spice. To order Sweet Philosophy products, contact Jennifer at:
sweetphilosophy@yahoo.com
David and Jef Bucknam are pictured near the oven in the Community Kitchen in Alfred with some of their specialized dog biscuits. They operate the Old Dog
Cookie Company and they make all-natural herbal-based dog treats. Their
arthritis relief and diabetic dog biscuits
contain gentle healing herbs that help
maintain good health for pets.
Charlie Wolf of the Harbor Fish Market in Portland welcomed Donna Sano to conduct a taste-testing demonstration of her seafood crumb topping that
she made in the Community Kitchen.