Findlay Kitchen Scholarship Fund

Starting a business is hard.

Findlay Kitchen exists to help food entrepreneurs, with a particular focus on BIPOC-, women- and immigrant-owned businesses, start, grow and scale. But even with Findlay Kitchen’s wraparound support, mentoring and industry connections, many small businesses struggle to get off the ground because it is so. dang. hard.

Mobile Pop-Up Businesses require expensive equipment up front. And without getting out there and selling to real customers (another upfront expense), they don’t know if they have a winning concept that people will get excited about, nor the space to tweak recipes and try new things.

For entrepreneurs creating Consumer Packaged Goods (CPGs), the regulatory red tape before an item can be stocked in stores is costly and time-consuming. Many CPG businesses at Findlay Kitchen sell in the farmers market directly to shoppers, and need additional resources to get onto the shelves at places like Whole Foods, Kroger and Target.

Bakers must contend with volatile foods that could go bad before they sell out, must be made fresh day after day, and require a growing customer base in order to expand.

Meal Prep Businesses often rely on expensive websites and e-commerce platforms for order and delivery, a tool beyond the reach of many Kitchen members just starting out.

The costs and obstacles of starting a food business go on, and on, and on. The Findlay Kitchen Scholarship Fund exists to help reduce the financial barriers that so many entrepreneurs face at the outset of their businesses.

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