The Queen's Partnerships and Innovation (QPI) team supports the university’s strategic goal to build community partnerships and fully embed Queen’s in the community. With support from external funding, the QPI team offers numerous services, resources, and programs to support entrepreneurs, including those from Queen’s, and to accelerate the growth of startups and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within Kingston and Eastern Ontario. The University is receiving federal funding from the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) Ecosystem Fund, which helps to address gaps and build capacity in the entrepreneurship ecosystem for women. Led by QPI, the WE-CAN (Women Entrepreneurs Can) Project inspires and empowers existing and aspiring women-identifying entrepreneurs by providing them with tools, resources, expert mentors, networks and community building to expand existing businesses and to launch new ventures.
A new commercial kitchen space launched this year in downtown Kingston is helping to support women-identifying entrepreneurs as they launch and grow their food production ventures.
Harbour Kitchen is Kingston’s newest community kitchen, providing affordable access to commercial kitchen space for women from underrepresented groups, including Indigenous women, newcomer women to Canada, women from racialized communities and women a disability.
“Small home-based food businesses are growing in Kingston, but commercial kitchen space is hard to find,” notes Madeleine Nerenberg, Director of Newcomer Services for KEYS Employment & Newcomer Services in Kingston. “Without commercial kitchen space, it’s challenging to build and grow a food-based business.”
In partnership with the City of Kingston, KEYS has built an accessible community kitchen service at the former site of The Harbour Restaurant at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour in Kingston.
“Harbour Kitchen hopes to impact the lives of 25-30 female entrepreneurs in 2023 by providing a low-cost space for them to cook,” observes Carissa Cosgrove, Coordinator of the Harbour Kitchen Initiative. “We assist entrepreneurs in navigating the landscape of resources, and provide education and support to help them build and grow their food-based businesses.”
The long-term vision for Harbour Kitchen includes a hub for entrepreneurs to work on their business, as well as to provide access to the tools, learning, and equipment they need to market themselves effectively.
The kitchen is a collaborative community effort and is not intended to duplicate services already available in the region, but rather, is intended to fill in gaps to help women thrive.
The primary goal of Harbour Kitchen is to reduce the financial barriers associated with building a food-based business by providing low cost access to a commercial kitchen space. Pricing starts at $20/hour and is available by sliding scale based on unique and specific needs. Memberships and dry storage are also available. The plan is to include cold storage offerings later in 2023.
“While we cannot remove all barriers to entry for locally based food production businesses, we want to provide confidence-building supports and direction,” adds Cosgrove. “As we grow, we expect to gain access to new and innovative forms of funding to help people more effectively with individual needs and intersectional barriers.”
The concept of a shared commercial kitchen space in Kingston was prompted by the experiences of women entrepreneurs in the YourWay Program, a cohort-based initiative of the WE-CAN Project. Developed and delivered by KEYS and St. Lawrence College, the program was initially designed to help build woman-led food-related businesses.
When the YourWay Program concluded in 2022, organizers felt strongly there was a continued need to support the expansion of such ventures in the Kingston region.
“During the two-year duration of the YourWay Program, the challenge to find accessible, affordable and collective commercial kitchen space in Kingston became abundantly clear,” says Amy Shelley, former YourWay Program Coordinator (now Manager of Skills, Training & Economic Development at St. Lawrence College). “Through the determination and dedication of our community partners at KEYS and the City of Kingston, the solution was discovered at the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour.”
Adds Shelley, “Harbour Kitchen will continue to support the women of the YourWay Program to help them fully realize their business potential, and enrich our community with their culture and delicious food."
One entrepreneur who expects to be impacted by Harbour Kitchen is WE-CAN client Selena Martin, owner of Cravin’, Kingston’s first gourmet home food box.
“Having a space like Harbour Community Kitchen is a gamechanger,” she shares. “I can now diversify my income by offering cooking classes and take more risks while being supported by a community of like-minded entrepreneurs. Having a safe community of female-identifying people is hard to come by especially in a typically male-dominated industry. I'm excited to see this kitchen come to life and see all the amazing creations we as women can produce for our community!”
Selena anticipates that access to the Harbour Community Kitchen will allow her to build her clientele and help her turn her side hustle into a full-time job.
“This kitchen has the potential to allow me to expand and grow into my own space,” she concludes. “I believe it will also allow me to keep connected with other kitchen users and provide a powerful foundation for women to amplify their voices in the food industry.”
To learn more about how you can access or become a sponsor of Harbour Kitchen, visit the KEYS Community Kitchen webpage or email harbourkitchen@keys.ca.