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2026 Shared Kitchen Summit Agenda
Three days of sessions sourced from the operator community, with fresh ideas and new perspectives every year.
Key
Summit Sessions
Networking & Social
Field Experience
Awards
Check-in
Sunday, October 11
Early Summit Check-In
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Join us at Yellow Door Taqueria to grab your swag bag early and get a jump-start on networking with fellow attendees.
Monday, October 12
Shared Kitchen Summit
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
The Summit kicks off with an impactful keynote and a full day of insightful sessions designed to help you chart your course.
Welcome and State of The Industry
The economic impact of shared kitchens is undeniable, and now we have the data to prove it. Discover the learnings from our first ever food business survey as CEO and Founder, Ashley Colpaart kicks off our 2026 Summit with a State of the Industry you don’t want to miss.
Ashley Colpaart
The Platformed Kitchen: Why the Future of Food Is Distributed, Local, and Shared
All this time you thought the most important thing you were doing was creating access to shared kitchens. But did you know that you’ve been quietly constructing a new food economy? In this keynote, Lisa Raiola, MPH, Founder and President of Hope & Main, will name the paradigm shift already underway in our sector: the rise of the platformed kitchen. Shared‑use kitchens are no longer just facilities. They are the connective infrastructure of a more distributed, shared localized food economy.
Lisa will show why this moment matters, why the shift is happening now, and why the next decade of food entrepreneurship will be defined by the operators in this room. The platformed kitchen is emerging as the backbone of a re‑shored, re‑claimed middle of the supply chain, and industry leaders are the pioneers of this transformation. This is your moment to see your work clearly, to understand its power, and to step into the role you’ve already been playing: builders of the food economy that comes next.
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Data Nerds Welcome: Inside the Numbers on Shared Kitchen Impact
Shared-use kitchens are a critical but understudied part of food system infrastructure. For the first time, we have nationwide data that answers the questions operators and policymakers have been asking: What does the sector actually provide? What do food entrepreneurs actually use, and does it matter? Can we connect kitchen offerings to measurable business outcomes? This isn't secondhand analysis — it's straight from the people gathering, analyzing, and interpreting the data. This session presents new survey findings and research linking what kitchens offer with what tenants utilize, revealing the impact on profitability, client success, and sector resilience.
Attendees will leave able to:
Ashley Colpaart
Holly Fowler
Rebecca Wasserman-Olin
From Recipe to Reality: Designing TA and Education Programs Across Nonprofit and For-Profit Models
Running a shared kitchen is one thing. Running a food business incubator is something else entirely. This panel brings together five operators and consultants across nonprofit and for-profit models to examine the systems, decisions, and tradeoffs behind building programs that actually produce viable food businesses — and how organizational structure shapes everything from pricing to community access.
Attendees will leave able to:
Abel Aguilar Jr
Casey Steele
Mark Holland
No Filter: Unscripted Answers from the Operators Who've Been There
Some of the most valuable conference conversations happen when the format gets out of the way. This session puts two experienced shared kitchen operators in the hot seat and hands the floor to you. Between them, DeAndre Wilson and Sarabjit Sawhney bring decades of hands-on experience launching kitchens, supporting food entrepreneurs, navigating licensing and grants, building community partnerships, and scaling operations. No presentations, no scripts — just rapid-fire questions and straight answers.
Attendees will leave able to:
DeAndre Wilson
Sarabjit Sawhney
Built to Last: Designing Operational SOPs That Improve Retention and Run Your Kitchen Consistently
Inconsistent operations drive members away. When expectations are unclear, enforcement is uneven, and processes exist only in someone's head, the kitchen experience suffers — and so does retention. Liz Buxton, Director of Operations at the Western MA Food Processing Center, brings more than 40 years of food service and operations management experience, including over a decade building the systems that now support dozens of emerging food brands and local farms across the Northeast. Paul Stephen, founder of Clarence Creative Kitchen in the Buffalo region, built a rapidly growing shared kitchen and incubator from the ground up with a focus on scalable systems that lower barriers for small businesses. Together they'll walk attendees through designing SOPs that are clear enough to be followed consistently, practical enough to be enforced fairly, and structured to improve the member experience.
Attendees will leave able to:
Liz Buxton
Paul Stephen
Streamlining the Chaos: A Live TFC Account Optimization
Many shared kitchen operators are running their business across a patchwork of spreadsheets, calendars, texts, and standalone software, unaware of how much of that manual work The Food Corridor platform could already be handling. Director of Flint Food Works, Sean Gartland, brings his real operation to the stage, walking through his current onboarding process and the pain points slowing him down. Hailey Edmondson and Ashley Colpaart of The Food Corridor then step in for a live, unscripted optimization of Sean's TFC account, rebuilding his onboarding workflow in real time. Attendees will see firsthand how small configuration changes can eliminate redundant tools, save hours of admin work, and create a smoother experience for incoming members.
Attendees will leave able to:
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Sean Gartland
Resource Happy Hour
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Connect with Summit sponsors and discover how they can be valuable partners for your operation. A great chance to build relationships in a relaxed setting.
Tuesday, October 13
Shared Kitchen Summit
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
The learning continues with expert-led panels and interactive discussions — bringing the room's collective experience to the table.
Food as Infrastructure: The Missing Link in Local Economic Development
Girard Newkirk
Co-Founder and CEO, Genesis Block · author of Newkirknomics: The Blueprint to Build the Neighborhood
From Cash Flow to Buyer Connections: Hope & Main's Three-Tier Model for Co-Packing Member Support
Supporting food entrepreneurs through co-packing requires more than kitchen access. It takes financial literacy, production efficiency, and real pathways to market. Hope & Main has developed a three-tiered approach that addresses all of it — from in-depth cash flow projections that help members understand their lendability through the Seedlings program, to Kaizen and lean manufacturing training delivered through a local Manufacturing Extension Partnership, to the RI Tabletop Show, Rhode Island's only B2B trade show connecting food makers with buyers. This session walks through how each tier was built, how they work together, and what operators can learn from Hope & Main's model for structuring layered member support that moves businesses forward at every stage.
Attendees will leave able to:
Mission and Margin: Balancing Purpose and Revenue in a Shared Kitchen Business
Every shared kitchen operator navigates the tension between mission and margin, but the way that balance gets struck looks very different depending on whether your kitchen runs as a nonprofit, a for-profit, or something in between. This panel brings together operators with distinct models and hard-won perspective. John Vadnais has spent nearly a decade refining pricing and operations at Cherry Street Kitchen in Trenton, New Jersey with a focus on keeping the kitchen viable without pricing out the businesses it serves. Torrie Boggs serves as the Director of Impact at Real Good Kitchen Foundation, where they specialize in creating pathways for food entrepreneurs that power and connect our communities, and partner with Real Good Kitchen a for-profit social enterprise shared commercial kitchen. Together they explore what it actually takes to build a kitchen that sustains itself financially while staying true to the community it was built for.
Attendees will leave able to:
Torrie Boggs
Hidden Capacity: How Operators Are Repurposing Existing Kitchens to Expand Shared Kitchen Access
Some of the most viable shared kitchen opportunities are not new builds — they're church kitchens, closed restaurants, wholesale bakeries, and community center facilities sitting underutilized while food entrepreneurs struggle to find space. Moderated by Sherie Theriault of New England Food Business Advisors, this panel brings together operators who have identified, activated, and repurposed existing kitchen infrastructure for shared use. Together they explore the practical, financial, and community considerations that determine whether a repurposing project succeeds, and what operators and economic developers can learn from their experience.
Attendees will leave able to:
Sherie Theriault
Mary Cockram
Jobea Murray
Molly Reynolds
Food Safety: Keeping Food Safe with Planning, Regulatory Compliance and Partnerships
Over the last decade, the number of shared kitchens in Charlotte, NC has exploded. Mecklenburg County Environmental Health Division navigates the growing popularity of this model and invests in how these kitchens are built to function efficiently while maintaining food safety and security. The shared kitchen food service model has evolved rapidly, and rules and regulations are often slow to catch up. In this session, Mecklenburg County Registered Environmental Health Specialists share their experience progressing alongside the industry in one of the largest municipalities in North Carolina and the Southeast — and how they partner with operators to achieve regulatory compliance and set up kitchens for long-term success.
Attendees will leave able to:
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Providence Shared Kitchen Bus Tour
12:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Step outside the conference room and into real shared kitchens. Explore Providence's shared kitchen landscape and local food ecosystem up close. We will be visiting Hope & Main, Farm Fresh, Sankofa Community Kitchen, and Navad Bakery.
Wednesday, October 14
Shared Kitchen Summit
8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
The show's not over yet — a full day of actionable workshops and thought-provoking sessions to send you home with a clear plan forward.
The Backpedal That Built Trust: Lessons from Restructuring Kitchen Pricing
When you're the new manager of a shared kitchen with no predecessor to shadow, no kitchen experience, and a user base that's been there longer than you have, the last thing you want to do is change the pricing. But that's exactly what needed to happen. This QuickFire covers what went wrong, what worked, and the communication framework that came out of restructuring pricing at NoCo Community Kitchen, a shared-use commercial kitchen operated by Prescott Farmers Market in Prescott, Arizona. Expect honest takeaways about building trust before asking people to accept change, and a one-page framework you can bring back to your own kitchen.
Abby Herman
Don't Start with the Kitchen: Three Questions That Reveal What Food Businesses Really Need
When a food business owner approaches a shared kitchen, it's natural to begin with equipment, storage, available hours, and rental rates. But after six years operating Urban Eats as a commissary, shared kitchen, and food incubator in St. Louis, we've learned that the more important conversation often comes before any of those details.
What is this person actually trying to build? What have they already tested or validated? And what do they need from the kitchen right now?
John Chen shares three practical questions that help kitchen operators understand the different needs behind a membership inquiry—from established food operators seeking straightforward commissary services, to growing businesses needing reliable production capacity, to early-stage owners still figuring out whether their concept can become a viable business.
It's a simple shift in perspective that can improve member fit, clarify expectations, and drive more intentional use of shared-kitchen resources—without requiring every kitchen to become an incubator or every operator to become a business coach.
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John Chen
From cohort to commercial kitchen: Building pathways to success
Cohort models can do more than fill a training room. Nissa’a Stallworth and Lachelle Bell of Catapult Greater Pittsburgh share how cohorts help shared kitchens manage capacity, access, and scheduling while supporting entrepreneur growth. Leave this quickfire session with practical ideas for moving food businesses from structured programming into the commercial kitchen.
Shared Kitchen to Co-Manufacturer: Coaching Your Members for Growth
Not every food brand belongs in a co-packer, at least not right away. In this QuickFire, Maggie Roehl of JPG Resources explores the pre-work necessary before food businesses approach a co-packer and how you can coach them throughout the process. She'll cover how to evaluate your members' current stage, based on their time, resources, and production volume, and outline what documentation, recipe standardization, and production history co-packers typically expect before they'll take on a new client.
Maggie Roehl
From Idea to Pre-Development: What Nobody Tells You About Starting a Shared Kitchen
Every shared kitchen starts somewhere, and the earliest decisions often have the longest reach. In this QuickFire, Peter Fliri, Founder and Executive Director of Altru Kitchen Company, shares what he has learned navigating the pre-development phase of building a nonprofit shared-use commercial kitchen and culinary incubator in Southeastern Connecticut. From choosing an organizational structure to moving from concept to a defined development plan, Peter brings an honest, in-progress perspective on the early challenges that rarely make it into the success stories.
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Peter Fliri
How We Built It: The Team Behind CitySeed's Shared Kitchen
Developing a shared kitchen from the ground up requires more than a good idea. It takes strategic planning, community input, financial creativity, and a team that can hold it all together across disciplines and timelines. Moderated by Emily Paul of Food Works Group, this panel brings together the cross-disciplinary team behind CitySeed's shared-use kitchen in New Haven, Connecticut — including Executive Director Sarah Miller, Director of Food Business Sasha Fay, and construction consultant Brian Wessels of Intent Built. Together they walk through the full arc of the project, from community needs assessment and feasibility through facility design, capital stack assembly, and operational planning for launch. This is a candid, behind-the-scenes case study in equity-centered kitchen development from the people who built it.
Attendees will leave able to:
Emily Paul
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Brian Wessels
Pulling Out Your Hair: The Different Phases of Being a Commercial Kitchen Operator
Every shared kitchen operator has a story about the thing they did not see coming. Max Kunik, founder of Wingman Kitchens and winner of the 2025 Shared Kitchen of the Year award, has been collecting those stories for over seven years while building and expanding shared kitchen services across Texas. In this session, Max walks through the real phases of kitchen operation — from planning and buildout through landlord negotiations, equipment failures, contractor headaches, and the growth problems nobody warns you about. The delivery is honest, the tone is light, and the content will resonate whether you are still in the planning phase or deep in the weeds of running an established operation. Sometimes the best thing you can do is laugh, learn, and keep going.
Attendees will leave able to:
From Kitchen to Capital: What the Raising Dough Research Reveals About Scaling Food Businesses
Most shared kitchen operators want to support their food entrepreneurs beyond just providing space, but they lack the financial infrastructure or expertise to guide food businesses from launch to capital readiness and access. This session reveals what a working model looks like—and what operators can realistically adapt. The focus is on business finance and capital access strategy for makers, not kitchen operations. Raising Dough report findings will be presented throughout.
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Sarah Delevan
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Laura Masulis
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Emma Myers
Tell the Story, Show the Numbers: Communicating Your Kitchen's Impact
Funders and stakeholders don't just want to know that your kitchen is doing good work — they want to see it, and vague outcomes no longer cut it. Erika Tebbens, Director of Impact at Taste the Local Difference, and Molly Lawrence, Senior Manager of Social Impact at King Arthur, guide attendees through the process of identifying what makes their kitchen's story unique, determining what to measure, and weaving impact data and brand narrative together into a case that resonates with the people who matter most. Operators will leave knowing how to communicate confidently about their kitchen's multiplier effect on the local economy and make a compelling case for continued investment and support.
Attendees will leave able to:
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Small Market, Big Impact: Supporting Shared Kitchen Development in Small Cities and Rural Regions
Shared kitchen development in small cities and rural regions comes with a distinct set of challenges that urban models rarely account for, and service providers supporting those regions play a critical role in making viable projects happen. Yonatan Weinberg and R. Valentino Zubia lead food business and value-added production support through UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and the F3 Local initiative, where they have helped dozens of food entrepreneurs and farmers access shared kitchens, permits, and funding across underserved California communities. In semi-rural regions, shared kitchens serve a dual purpose: supporting food entrepreneurs and creating direct connections between local farmers and the businesses that can turn their products into market-ready goods. This session draws from their on-the-ground experience to explore how economic development practitioners, nonprofits, and technical assistance providers can catalyze shared kitchen development where resources are thin, leverage kitchens as bridges between farmers and food entrepreneurs, and build the local value chains that drive real regional economic development.
Attendees will leave able to:
Yonatan Weinberg & R. Valentino Zubia
Getting Your Ducks in a Row: Building the Team, Tools, and Funding Strategy to Launch a Shared Kitchen
Opening a shared kitchen requires far more than finding a building. It demands a clear program vision, the right consultant team, and a funding strategy that can survive the road to day one. Kara Martin of New Venture Advisors helps organizations define what their kitchen can look like and use that definition to attract funding. Paul Lewandowski of Figure 19 grounds projects in reality early — space programming, square footage, property review, and early concept design for kitchen and support spaces before money is committed. Alison Macbeth of Rhode Island Commerce brings the economic development perspective, including an honest look at how grant programs can be limited, and how connecting a kitchen project to broader state and regional frameworks can strengthen partnerships and progress. Together they address how to define your project, build your team, and get all the pieces moving before day one. Designed with pre-revenue and early-stage teams in mind, though operators refining an existing space will find practical takeaways too.
Attendees will leave able to:
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Paul Lewandowski
Alison Macbeth
Business Unusual: Preparing, Responding and Recovering from Emergencies and Disasters
Running a shared kitchen is demanding under normal circumstances. Running one during a civic emergency requires a different level of leadership entirely. This panel draws from direct experience, bringing together three Minneapolis kitchen operators who kept their facilities running during two distinct and defining crises: ICE enforcement actions during Operation Metro Surge and the civil unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd. Emily Torgrimson of Eat for Equity, Felipe Galvan of NEON Collective Kitchens, and Chef Lachelle Cunningham of City Food Studio share what it took to prepare, respond, and rebuild — covering the operational, communicative, and community dimensions of crisis leadership that no operator handbook addresses. This session is for operators who want to be ready before the emergency arrives.
Attendees will leave able to:
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Lachelle Cunningham
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Felipe Galvan
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Emily Torgrimson
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Abigail Brinkmeier
The CEO Shift: Moving from Daily Operator to Strategic Leader
Many shared kitchen owners start with a passion for food and community and find themselves years later still answering every scheduling request, troubleshooting every equipment issue, and making every operational call. The kitchen is running, but the business is not growing. This session combines two perspectives on the same critical shift: moving from the daily grind of kitchen management into the strategic mindset of a CEO. Attendees will explore what it means to think like a business leader rather than a kitchen operator, and walk through the practical steps of building the team, systems, and leadership structure that allow a kitchen business to scale without the owner in every decision. Whether you are a food entrepreneur growing into ownership or an established operator ready to step back from daily operations, this session offers a clear framework for building a business that runs beyond you.
Attendees will leave able to:
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Angel(a) Jenkins
Say It So They Hear It: Enforcing Rules Without Escalating Conflict
Conflict in a shared kitchen is not a matter of if but when — and how it gets addressed shapes the culture of the entire facility. Sue Ellsworth, Executive Director of Piedmont Food Processing Center and founder of WE Power Food, and Cody Lee, Operations Manager at Piedmont Food Processing Center, bring both leadership and boots-on-the-ground perspective to one of the most common challenges operators face. Together they share practical, real-world strategies for communicating expectations, addressing non-compliance in the moment, and enforcing rules in ways that lead to resolution without escalating tension. Attendees will leave with clear language, consistent approaches, and simple systems for building a culture of accountability from day one.
Attendees will leave able to:
Food Freedom Laws & the Producer Pipeline: How Exemptions Support Scaling
Cottage food, MEHKO, and tamale bills are reshaping how food entrepreneurs enter the market. This panel explores the landscape of food freedom laws across states, the findings from TFC's national survey on producers scaling from home to commercial kitchens, and what kitchen operators should know about these emerging frameworks—including how they can become a growth pathway, not a business threat.
Ashley Colpaart
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Ellen Hamlett
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Maria Gonzalez
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Roya Bagheri
3rd Annual Golden Whisk Awards
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Our grand finale — an evening celebrating the visionaries, operators, and unsung heroes of the shared kitchen community. A night not to miss.