Processing Local in the Bear River Kitchen Incubator

By Kisha Lewellyn Schlegel, 10-09-07

	Caption: Click here for more on SAABRA's Bear River Incubator.

As the local food movement grows so does the need for processing facilities and businesses at the local level (see last week’s article). In 2004, sales of retail specialty foods was over $24 billion and from home to restaurant, hospital to school, local food buyers want locally made salsa, tortillas, cakes and cookies. In response, some nonprofits and enterprise centers are creating Incubator Kitchens.

The Sustainable Agriculture Association of the Bear River Area, otherwise known as SAABRA, started the Bear River Kitchen Incubator a public-use, inspected kitchen that provides a space for people who want to process and prepare foods for public sale. Unlike the home kitchen, the Bear River Kitchen follows the state and federal laws necessary for food entrepreneurs to sell food to the public. For $50 a day, users rent the kitchen and develop their products.

SAABRA was formed in 2001 to organize citizens around sustainable agriculture.  Located in the Cache Valley of Northern Utah and Southern Idaho, between the Bear River Range, the Wellsville Mountains and Malad Range the organization has a network of projects intended to educate consumers and legislators about sustainable agriculture and to help food-based entrepreneurs who want to develop products. The organization has a Mobile Poultry Processing Unit (MPPU) that lets poultry producers process their birds in Utah inspected facility that travels to them. They also hold a Gardeners Market from May through October and run the Cache Community Garden.

In the Kitchen Incubator, people experiment with recipes and discuss marketing strategies prior to making a larger commitment or investment in their product. According to the National Business Incubation Association, businesses that begin in this type of incubator have an eighty percent success rate, compared to the usual twenty percent success rate of other businesses.

With two convection ovens, a six burner range, large freezer, three mixers and a dough roller, bakers can prepare buttery croissants and biscuits with a bit more ease. And once entrepreneurs have their recipes in order, the incubator kitchen also provides assistance with labeling, packaging and business planning. With any luck, the SAABRA incubator will foster processors who will make the salsa eaters crave.