Randolph County approves commercial kitchen rates for Agricultural Center to support food entrepreneurs

The Randolph County Board of Commissioners voted to approve rates and fees for a shared‑use commercial kitchen at the county Agricultural Center intended to help local food entrepreneurs start and scale businesses.

Sophie Farlow, local food systems agent for Randolph County Cooperative Extension, and Tim Mangum introduced the proposal and described a three‑year planning effort that included comparisons to similar county‑run kitchens. Farlow said the kitchen will include two separate commercial spaces with commercial‑grade equipment, separate ventilation, walk‑in coolers and freezers, and rentable dry storage. She said the facility is considered high risk for food safety and will be inspected by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (NCDA) and Randolph County Environmental Health.

The approved policy requires an application and mandatory onboarding orientation, and users must hold required food‑handler certifications. The fee schedule includes a one‑time application fee, hourly rental rates, cold‑storage delivery handling fees and policy violation fees; staff said fees were set to keep the space accessible to start‑up entrepreneurs while aiming to approach cost recovery.

Commissioners who spoke in support cited the facility’s potential to help value‑added agricultural producers and food entrepreneurs test products without investing in home‑to‑commercial kitchen conversions. After discussion, a commissioner made a motion to approve the fee schedule; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.

Staff said the county’s goal is not to generate profit but to provide an affordable, inspected option for residents to scale food businesses and to keep value‑added agricultural production in Randolph County.