Entering the kitchen, your senses might first be filled with the spiced aroma of Fresh Food Generation’s jerk chicken sauce. But at CommonWealth Kitchen (CWK) it’s not just about the food – it’s also about the people. As foods are chopped, cooked, baked, and canned, CWK is hatching and growing culinary businesses and jobs, working to strengthen the local economy and build our local food system, particularly for people who experience racial, economic and social inequality.
Over 50 food businesses are currently using the kitchen, employing over 125 people, and are being connected to business development training and tools through CWK and its partner organizations. CWK also offers full-time, permanent employment to residents in its surrounding neighborhoods where long-term disinvestment has led to limited economic opportunities and to poverty. Since opening in 2009, CWK has launched 85 businesses and spurred creation of over 400 local jobs. CommonWealth Kitchen is causing a ripple effect, supporting viable culinary jobs and businesses in its kitchen and in the greater food system, and spurring reinvestment in communities.
