Business Builder Scholarships are the new recipe for food start-ups

Kalamazoo's food business incubator, the Can-Do Kitchen, is now offering scholarships intended to help those of low- to moderate-incomes get started in business.

 

The incubator's Business Builder Scholarships will be available to entrepreneurs, especially in the Northside, Eastside, Edison, Stuart, Vine, and Fairmont neighborhoods of Kalamazoo. Seven scholarships are available. Five are available only to low- to moderate-income individuals. The July 2013 – June 2014 scholarship program is intended promote food justice in Kalamazoo.

 

Scholarships are $8,820 each and will be available to people with food business ideas. Applicants don't have to have a food business in place, but must be committed to transforming a business idea into reality. Interested people can call 492-0261 or email Can-Do Kitchen program manager Lucy Bland  to receive an application form.

 

Business Builder Scholarship recipients will become Can-Do Kitchen incubator clients. The kitchen helps entrepreneurs with business and financial planning, food industry connections, and business support.  

 

“This scholarship program is all about increasing access to our services, creating relationships, and increasing small food business in Kalamazoo,” says Bland. "We’re going to put a lot of energy into getting to know all of our scholarship recipients and supporting them along the way." 

 

The Business Builder scholarship program is funded by Community Development Block Grant funds, administered through the City of Kalamazoo. LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) also is supporting the program.

 

The Can-Do Kitchen is currently supporting  15 businesses and cooking classes. Since 2008, the Can-Do Kitchen, a program of Fair Food Matters, has supported over 75 small food businesses and increased the availability of foods made locally with local ingredients. It creates a low-risk environment in which start-ups can test products and their commitment to business ownership.