MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Community Food Innovation Center at Mylan Park has opened, providing the public and businesses with access to a full kitchen facility.
According to Monongalia County Commissioner Sean Sikora, the facility will have many uses, including opportunities for economic development.
“We have entrepreneurs out there that wanted to try their hand at starting a restaurant or something, but wanted to develop their products and this is a facility available to them,” he said.
Healthy Kids Inc., through a grant, will use the facility for producing meals for preschool children in Monongalia and Marion counties. The goal of the project is to develop a template of menus, food preparation and distribution to be expanded across the state.
“Targeting food insecurity, educating youth and adults about food preparation and processing and a million other possibilities are available here,” venue manager Rachel Mitchell said.
Healthy Kids’ co-founder Mandy Curry said people have the potential to create up to 1,000 meals a day, but the pilot program’s efforts will focus on creating 80 meals daily. The project increases time for teachers to focus on education and gives children nutritious meals during the school day.
“It is really nice that we will have that ability to take that burden off of them and be able to increase the level of quality of the foods they are serving,” she said. “We’re trying to use as much local as we can.”
Rental rates will be based on profit, nonprofit status and kitchen needs, but Mitchell said hourly, daily and monthly rates are available on request.