Kitchen Commons matches kitchen resources with community need, making it affordable and practical to cook healthy food, putting the dream of a food business in reach of low-income entrepreneurs, and advocating for food justice. Kitchen Commons operates in Northeast Portland, since 2010.

We are building the kitchen commons: a network of community kitchens in every neighborhood. Community kitchens are places where neighbors of all ages and backgrounds come together to make and share meals, learn from each other about cooking and preserving the harvest, and nurture small food businesses. They can be hosted by faith organizations, schools, community and senior centers, businesses and nonprofits. They can be certified for particular purposes, but many activities don’t require certification or special equipment.

The role of Kitchen Commons is to support, develop, and promote these kitchen spaces. By fostering the development of lots of different kinds of kitchens, we can help meet evolving needs in different communities. We do this by connecting neighborhood kitchen organizers with resources, creating opportunities to network and share ideas, and advocating for policies that facilitate the development and use of community kitchens.

We envision communities free from hunger, with widespread basic cooking, meal-planning and grocery buying skills, and easy access to well-equipped spaces so that all people can prepare healthy meals. Everyone is regularly cooking, eating and preserving what they grow with family, friends and neighbors.

We are bridging the gap between generations and tapping into our cultural wisdom by preserving and transferring community food knowledge. We are building community wealth and creating jobs by incubating the food business dreams of those who otherwise couldn’t afford to fulfill them. We have a just, democratic food system that ensures everyone is treated fairly and has a voice.