New online resource available for food entrepreneurs

Iowa Valley Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) has launched its Iowa Kitchen Connect website, www.IowaKitchenConnect.com, to help aspiring food entrepreneurs get their ideas off the ground.

What started in 2015 as a local Iowa City effort called “ICKitchenConnect” has now expanded to a statewide initiative with on-the-ground collaborations in Dubuque, Des Moines and Davenport. Iowa Kitchen Connect helps Iowa’s food entrepreneurs find shared-use kitchen space, navigate paperwork and licensing and connect with their peers around Iowa. Website content was developed by working closely with both new and established food entrepreneurs.

This fall, Iowa Kitchen Connect will host Starting Off Right Workshops to provide a face-to-face opportunity for food entrepreneurs to network with each other and meet local buyers. Dubuque’s workshop will be Oct. 5-6.

“When you start a food business, you have a lot of upfront costs, a lot of risk and a lot of stress. That steep price tag can discourage entrepreneurs before they even start,” project lead Jake Kundert stated in a press release. “With Iowa Kitchen Connect, entrepreneurs can find and use existing kitchens near them. That way they can build their brand and feel out the market before diving into a brick and mortar space of their own.”

To register for a workshop or for more information about the project, contact Mr. Kundert at (563) 451-5952 or jake@ivrcd.org.