By Chris Brockel
FEED Kitchens
Like any food business incubator, FEED Kitchens offers a space in our local food system that directly connects local farms with consumers through value-added processing — whether that be ready-to-eat meals or a packaged product bought to be enjoyed later or to be made part of a larger menu. As such, incubator kitchens offer a valuable service in building an infrastructure that supports local food sovereignty or local control of what we eat and what is available for consumption. Folks who understand this, as well as folks who are simply worried about their favorite foodstuff continuing to be available, have approached us throughout the pandemic worried about the future of FEED Kitchens.
A shared makerspace for foodies, FEED Kitchens depends on members filling up the facility, standing nearly shoulder-to-shoulder to create their products during the summer event and harvest seasons here in Madison. It is how FEED breaks even and keeps our doors open. It is how people work behind the scenes to make Madison the food destination city that it is.
The pandemic changed this for us. No longer could we have members packed in the facility to create products. We had to limit the number of members at FEED at any one time. We had to toughen our cleaning protocols. We had to have all 85 of our member businesses understand that strict adherence to our safety protocols had to be followed to ensure a safe production space for everyone. Balancing safety with the ability to bring in revenue is tricky business. So far we have done it.
Eight months into the pandemic, we have not had a single case of COVID-19 affect the operation of our facility. We understand that some of this is luck, but we also know that the seriousness with which our members take their responsibility to the facility and each other is a huge factor in this success. Usage of the facility is down about 50% during the pandemic, but the doors remain open and production continues.
At FEED we have not had a single business close due to the pandemic. Food carts and caterers, who are dependent on events, have suffered the most; and we suspect they may still face a reckoning this winter, depending on the trajectory of the pandemic. Other businesses are faring quite well. Bakers, in general, are finding great success during the pandemic as we all continue to allay our anxieties with snacks.
For the most part, however, businesses at FEED are finding their way through the pandemic. They are taking advantage of economic support programs available to them, honing their social media skills, and developing online sales and marketing tools.
FEED’s upcoming Virtual Holiday Bazaar is open from late November to mid-December. This will be our latest effort to keep up with the changing realities and bring you the wonderful local food items you desire just in time for the holidays. This is your chance to support the producers at FEED and keep them in business. If you have an interest in keeping FEED’s doors open, the Virtual Holiday Bazaar will also give you a chance to make a direct donation to our effort. Visit give-to-npc.square.site.