Go back a few decades and RI had many certified food processing sites for food harvested from RI farms and waters. There were places for, well, you name it: canning tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, preserving fruits, making cheese and yogurt, baking and roasting, butchering meat, shucking oysters, fileting finfish. But today's reality is much spottier. As food policies guided the national and global consolidation of our food supply, local farms and food processing sites were neglected and many closed. Of those that are left, few RI processors source their food from local farms, and these days few RI farms process value-added foods because few have access to a kitchen.

The Open Kitchen project aims to expand the diversity of RI produced foods using local ingredients, thereby nourishing and providing a livelihood for more Rhode Islanders. We are also connecting with culinary training programs to provide skills support to Open Kitchen users. Our long-term goal is to open up a kitchen that is entirely focused on incubating food businesses, supporting farmers and women, immigrant and low-income entrepreneurs. In the process we will strengthen our local food system and food security.

More about Open Kitchen: the program, why, market opportunities

Certified Kitchens in the Rhode Island vicinity

Maybe a Farm Kitchen is right for you?

Do you have city-water, a double-basin stainless steel sink and no animals running around the kitchen? These farms have on-site kitchens that are certified for commercial food processing. Contact them to learn more about how they did it:

What the Open Kitchen project offers

• Partnerships with established certified kitchens to offer affordable rent to farmers and new users
• Training in an affordable and accessible ServSafe certification and culinary skills courses
• Links food producers to locally grown ingredients
• Guides potential producers through the process of getting a license
• Connects entrepreneurs to business training and microloans
• Provides market outlets that connect food producers with customers

Why Rhode Island needs an Open Kitchen

• For farmers: Many farmers want to produce value-added products but do not have access to a certified kitchen or the time to cook during the growing season. This certified kitchen will link farmers to people who want to process food. If a farmer has an overabundance of perishable produce they may not be able to sell it all before it goes bad. With an open kitchen and trained cooks at the stovetop those fruits and veggies can be made into value-added products. Tomatoes can be turned into shelf-stable sauce, benefiting local growers and food producers, while increasing eaters’ access to local food year round.
• For entrepreneurs: The obstacles associated with starting a food production business are staggering. There are start-up costs for ingredients, equipment, and licensing and the trouble of finding a certified kitchen and a consistent customer base. In Rhode Island there is no legal way to cook food in your home and sell it. Many low-income and immigrant entrepreneurs lack access to the necessary capital and tools to start a food business.

Farmers' Markets can support new food business ventures

We envision vibrant markets with a variety of prepared foods, from salsas to samosas, made locally with local ingredients. These markets will better represent our diverse neighborhoods and connect new food producers to customers. These prepared foods will use the freshest, best-tasting ingredients and provide a new avenue for food lovers to support local producers. Farmers will be able to process/preserve the fresh foods they grow and diversify the products they offer to provide more consistent income throughout the year.