Create Campaign outlines ‘a la carte’ shared kitchen for Wichita food entrepreneurs

Create Campaign, a Wichita nonprofit, described its “a la carte” shared commercial kitchen and business-development program during the Wichita Board of Park Commissioners meeting. The group said the site at Boston Recreation Center offers affordable hourly and membership options, licensing assistance and secure, on-site storage for new food entrepreneurs.

The presentation said the program’s goal is to give people a way “to learn how to put a food business around a food idea,” including recipe scaling, nutrition labeling and access to industry expertise and a commercial kitchen. “It is not enough for them just to have a space to cook,” the presenter said. “They’ve gotta learn how to grow food brands and food businesses.”

Why it matters: the project targets early-stage food entrepreneurs who lack access to kitchen space, licensing help and business-development services. Program staff said that combining those services with donated equipment and subsidized pricing reduces common startup barriers.

Key features and local partners

- Pricing: a pay-by-the-hour option at $20 per hour (no minimum), a membership that yields discounted hourly access (example rates discussed included $18/hour dedicated usage and a further discounted $15/hour rate for certain arrangements). The presenter said the pricing model was set after surveying shared kitchens in Wichita, across Kansas and the region.

- Licensing and compliance: Create Campaign said it has worked with the Kansas Department of Agriculture to streamline licensing and that the nonprofit pays licensing fees up front for entrepreneurs and recovers the amounts as business capital is repaid to the nonprofit. “We actually pay on their behalf to the Kansas Department of Agriculture. Those licenses get processed nearly immediately,” the presenter said.

- Facility support: Cox Communications donated equipment; Create Campaign said it provided each entrepreneur with a secure refrigeration cage and dry storage, access to multipurpose space for classes or tastings, and consumable supplies such as gloves and aprons.

- Early impact: Create Campaign said it won the RFP for the Boston Recreation Center site in August 2023, launched a pilot in May 2024 and performed a full launch in September 2024. The presenter reported the shared kitchen can serve up to eight entrepreneurs simultaneously and that participating entrepreneurs have logged nearly 245 hours of kitchen use. The program said it has licensed two brand-new food businesses and helped one business renew its license.

- Grant award and training: Create Campaign said it received a K-State entrepreneurial growth initiative award for $125,000 in disbursed installments tied to milestones and that its lead coordinator completed industry-recognized food-safety training to run food-safety classes on-site.

Program access and next steps

Create Campaign said entrepreneurs can apply through its entrepreneurship-education pathways; the presenter suggested a spark program (createcampaignks.com/back/spark) as one route. The presenter said Create Campaign pays a monthly rent of $1,000 for the Boston Recreation Center space and has paid for additional janitorial work, pest control and electrical adjustments beyond what the city provided.

The presentation closed with an offer to answer questions and an acknowledgement that the group will continue providing updates to the park board.