Iowa’s first-ever Shared-Use Kitchen Workshop March 31–April 1, 2025, brought food entrepreneurs from 25 communities across the state together with each other and with business support staff at Iowa State University Extension, a key partner with the Heartland Regional Food Business Center. The workshop provided practical, hands-on training to aspiring and current shared kitchen operators, food entrepreneurs, and community leaders seeking to grow Iowa’s local food economy.
Ashley Colpaart, founder of The Food Corridor and a national leader in shared-use kitchen development, led attendees through the process of planning, launching, and managing shared-use kitchens. With experience teaching across the country, and collaborating directly with kitchen operators, Colpaart delivered real-time insights into what makes these kitchens successful.
Movement starts
“Kudos to Ashley Colpaart for effortlessly carrying a day and a half of insights for aspiring and current shared kitchen owners in Iowa,” said Maryann Baldwin of The Works, a small business support organization in Lansing, Iowa, and La Crescent, Minnesota. “This event may be remembered as the time when ISU Extension and Kitchen Corridor unleashed a wave of local food innovation across the state.”
Participants also heard from Julie Kraling and Tenesha Stubblefield of the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing, who provided critical guidance on food safety regulations and compliance.
Participants lead the way
This is just the beginning, said Penny Brown Huber, Food Business Specialist at the Iowa State Food Innovation and Business Hub.
“Creating more opportunities for local food processors to expand their businesses is why shared-use kitchens are so important,” she said. “Our goal over the next four years is to establish many more shared-use kitchens around Iowa, and to do that, we plan to hold this workshop annually.”
Workshop participants are also making sure Iowa sees business and local economy development from their food business interest and innovation. To keep the momentum going, they have formed a statewide working group to continue learning and collaborating on shared-use kitchen development.
“Each of the attendees came with great ideas and a desire to build a lasting community asset,” Huber said. “We’re excited to see what grows from this.”
For more information or to get involved, contact Penny Brown Huber at pbhuber@iastate.edu or 515-294-4417.
See this news and more in upcoming issues of the Iowa Small Food Processing Digest.