The MARK Project Announces The Completion of a Fully Certified Community Kitchen Space in the North Barn at Kirkside Park

With the generous help of New York Department of State under Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Fund Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, Transition Catskills, and the A. Lindsay & Olive B. O'Connor Foundation, the MARK Project in partnership with the Town of Roxbury has successfully administered the completion of a fully certified community kitchen space which was developed in the north barn of Kirkside Park located on the East Branch of the Delaware River in the Town of Roxbury. The community kitchen is a means by which the local municipality can partner with area farms, local bakers, and artisanal food producers to enable them to prepare and package their goods for resale in a certified kitchen space.

This project provides the agricultural community the ability to increase their productivity of value added products through the provision of a certified kitchen space that now enables them to prepare and package their products as well as baked goods and artisanal food products such as jams and jellies. This inspires the perfect opportunity to bring the cultural and skilled “at home” laborer into an environment that will bolster ability to market and sell both new and existing value-added products. This will increase self employment and entrepreneurial activity to the region through collaboration between local municipalities, regional nonprofits, area growers and home based bakers and canners which will create new opportunities for otherwise unskilled workers. The kitchen space will be rented to the producer at a nominal and affordable fee either by the hour, the half-day or day to ensure the local farmer or producer can gain full benefit of supplementing their income through resale of their products. In addition, this extends the local growers’ income season substantially through the ability to freeze and pickle crops for winter resale

The kitchen is certified by both NY State Department of Health and NY Ag and Markets to allow for all levels of packaging and processing for resale. The kitchen is fully equipped with appropriate sanitary and refrigeration-freezer equipment as well as inspected workspaces and storage. The work included residing part of the building with cement board, new entry doors with crash hardware, new gutters, installation of a propane tank, an ansul/vent hood system, new stoves with supporting duct work, a convection oven with chimney, a handing space heater, a large 2 door refrigerator, various sink counters and shelving units with plumbing connects completed. The building also had a new roof installed.

The availability of a municipally owned and operated kitchen space will result in economic development, job creation and overall welfare of the community.

For more information, please contact the Town of Roxbury.