Start the New Year with a fresh entrepreneurial adventure! The January Community Forum will discuss how to start your own food business and will be held on Thursday, February 11, 2016, from 12 noon to 1 pm in the community room at the Market Café located at 614 N. Bullard St.
Aspiring chefs and entrepreneurs wanted! The Volunteer Center has a new program, the Nuevos Comienzos Community Kitchen (NCCK) with the mission of providing facilities, resources, and training to support the development of new and expanding small businesses that will create jobs and foster economic growth in Grant county. The Co-op is pleased to be a partner in this program along with WNMU, NMSU, and the Small Business Development Center.
Rita Herbst is the Kitchen Manager for this program and states, "We are looking for local growers and producers to use our NMED certified kitchen to make products for retail or wholesale. Products can include salsas, baked goods, herbs, wildcrafted products such as prickly pear jelly and candy to name a few of the possibilities. At NCCK we will spend a lot of time building a solid foundation for your new business. We are tapping community resources for instruction in entrepreneurship, marketing, food safety, and business planning and math and we have established working relationships with the Town of Silver City, the NMED, and the Grant County Extension Service as well as access to statewide marketing networks. There are also some grant funds available for income qualifying women, although we want to make sure everyone knows that this program is open to everyone in Grant County."
"The Co-op sells two products that started in a community kitchen. Taos Mt. Energy Bar and Heidi's Raspberry Jams. The Taos Mt. Energy bar was founded by two ski bums who couldn't find an energy bar they liked. They started making their bar in the Taos community kitchen and now have a factory in Questa, NM. Heidi's Raspberry Jams started, and is still made in The Mixing Bowl, an Albuquerque community kitchen. Heidi not only produces her jams, but has expanded to growing several acres of raspberries. These are great success stories that illuminate just how feasible it is to realize a dream".
The Co-op will be offering the Market Café space as a venue to sell the items made through the program. We are thinking about having sampling promotions, and even a Pop-up café concept where certain foods will be available for a short period of time. This program is at the heart of what a Co-op can do. Cooperate with other organizations to benefit all the members of our community.
If you are interested in the program, please contact Rita Herbst at The Volunteer Center 575-388-2988 or email rita@tvcgrantcounty.org. You can stop by The Volunteer Center at 501 E. 13th St. or go to their website: www.tvcgrantcounty.org
The mission of the Silver City Food Co-op is to provide and distribute high quality products and to promote cooperative and nutritional education to our members-owners, our customers, and our community. For more information, please contact the Co-op at (575) 388-2343, or visit our website www.silvercityfoodcoop.com.