Important update about The Stir Food Hub.

At the end of April, KFPC closed The Stir Kitchen, our shared-use kitchen rental  program.

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This decision was made by the KFPC Board after careful consideration of long-term sustainability. Like many organizations, we’ve been navigating a challenging funding environment, but more importantly, we’ve learned that a shared kitchen model is not the right fit for our region at this time.

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This direction reflects months of engagement with community partners, peers across the food hub network, and guidance from a professional social enterprise advisor.

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While this chapter is ending, The Stir is not closing fully.

We are transitioning the food hub facility toward a food processing and distribution model, with a leading Stir Maker taking on operations. KFPC will remain a partner, while stepping back from direct facility management to focus our efforts where we can have the greatest impact across the food system.

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This shift allows us to prioritize work that addresses broader gaps we continue to see, particularly around food distribution, coordination, and the support systems needed to help food businesses start-up and scale-up grow such as access to food business planning, mentorship, funding and investment. Initiatives like Grow & Connect Interior, a collaborative regional food distribution project that KFPC is a lead partner on, reflect this direction, focusing on strengthening connections across the regional food system rather than relying on a single physical space. Since our food hub program began with our pilot project and feasibility study in 2019, we have always envisioned that The Stir is more than just a building…It’s about the network of people, relationships, and ideas that strengthen our local food system. That work continues.

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We’re proud of what was built here; businesses launched, connections formed, and community created. We’re grateful to everyone who has been a part of it.

We’ll share more soon about what this next phase looks like. In the meantime, thank you for being part of this community and for continuing to support local food.

 

The KFPC is building a database of commercial kitchen spaces in Kamloops. If you operate a commercial kitchen, such as a restaurant, and are interested in renting space/time to other small businesses, we encourage you to take this 5-minute survey. 

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With gratitude,
Kent Fawcett, KFPC Co-Executive Director, & The KFPC Board