SKI Previewed to Users, Donors, and Friends
Volunteer Shared Kitchen Ithaca board members and friends hosted a Hard Hat Cocktail event offering a behind the scenes look at the future kitchen facility at 700 West Buffalo Street. Donors, entrepreneurs, local not-for-profits, and small business leaders gathered to network, enjoy local wine and food, and hear how the kitchen is progressing.
Shared Kitchen Ithaca will be a 4,000sqf shared-use commercial kitchen offering 24/7 access to food entrepreneurs and community organizations. Users can rent the kitchen, and use equipment to cook, process, or package their ingredients or products. The vision for the kitchen also includes offering small business development support, giving not-for-profits a space to reduce food waste, and helping farmers process excess produce into packaged goods.
Monika Roth speaks at the hard hat cocktail event in October, 2024
Board Member and local food system expert Monika Roth spoke to the crowd about a long history of efforts to develop a shared kitchen, “This has been coming together for years, decades really. We’ve tried in different spaces and with different models, but they didn’t pencil out as well as this initiative does.”
Roth shared her experience at Cornell Cooperative Extension, which has a small kitchen and serves as a hub for users today, “what’s available to farmers and food producers today is woefully inadequate, spaces fill up fast and they don’t have the right equipment to grow businesses. SKI addresses the key issues of space, access, and equipment, that’s why we’re excited for this facility to open!”
Dozens of food entrepreneurs were surveyed in a 2022 feasibility study funded by the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency. The study showed that there is an unaddressed need for such a facility and strong local demand to make it successful. One key element for the project is 700 West Buffalo St.’s former use - as the production kitchen for Greenstar Co-Op. Vent hoods, utility lines, and coolers are still in place, saving the SKI an estimated $100,000+ to get off the ground.
The study’s author, Rod Rotondi, now serves as the President of the SKI board. Formerly a food entrepreneur himself, Rotondi detailed his background in international development and developing nationally-distributed plant-based products to reiterate his commitment to making SKI a success.
Rod Rotondi speaking at the event
As it’s a not-for-profit enterprise, SKI is in the final stretch of its fundraising campaign to raise $200,000 to open the kitchen in early 2025, said Rotondi. $8,000 was raised from generous donors at the event, leaving just $9,500 left to go. As fundraising from private donors and foundations shows success, $150,000 to support the purchase of kitchen equipment is being “unlocked” from the Tompkins County Development Corporation (TCDC). TCDC periodically makes investments in local economic development initiatives, and has offered the funds to be available when SKI can show significant interest in local donors and a financial plan for the facility’s success when it launches.
Future users spent the event networking, “grilling” board members about when the kitchen will be ready, and gathering around a new kitchen floor plan unveiled at the event.
The equipment list and kitchen layout aren’t set in stone, feedback from future users has already led to some tweaks and improvements. What those conversations illustrate though, is that there are many people ready to put the kitchen to use and make it a success.
The Shared Kitchen Ithaca Board of Directors would like to thank the generous donors, creative future users, and interested community members and friends for their energy and participation to help make the kitchen a reality. SKI will update everyone as the initiative progresses, and invite you back for the ribbon cutting!
