Salt of the Earth Enterprise Kitchen’s Grand Opening in Bridgeport

Michelle McCabe, of the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, second from right, with colleagues at the opening of SEEK’s first kitchen space at St. John’s Episcopal Church.

After more than a year of planning, hard work and advocacy to acquire zoning permits, Bridgeport’s Salt of the Earth Enterprise Kitchens initiative had its grand opening in September. Its aim: to bolster Bridgeport’s local economy and thriving food culture.

Salt of the Earth Enterprise Kitchens (SEEK) is a shared-use commercial kitchen initiative of the Center for Food Equity and Economic Development (FEED Center) at the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport.  SEEK provides startup food entrepreneurs an attainable business entry point by offering hourly, below-market commercial kitchen rental prices, cited as the number one need for startup food entrepreneurs.

The FEED Center team worked with Bridgeport city officials for several months to enact policy that would allow qualified religious institutions to open their kitchen spaces up for commercial use by startup food businesses. The first SEEK Facility at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bridgeport is slated to open in October, and the first tenants include bakers, caterers and specialty food manufacturers.

Click here to learn more about the SEEK Facility at St. John’s Episcopal Church.