Missoula’s Moonlight Kitchens Help Local Businesses Keep Growing in Dead of Winter

Year-Round Economic Growth from Local Food Businesses

Missoula’s local food supply chain is becoming more robust during the off-season, creating jobs and meeting more of the area’s pent-up demand for year-round locally-produced foods. The Montana Department of Agriculture is contributing to this economic development by awarding a $30,000 expansion grant to Moonlight Kitchens http://moonlightkitchens.com at 1951 Kensington Ave.

Commercial kitchens such as Moonlight Kitchens form pivotal links in the supply chain, allowing locally-grown foods to be transformed into a wide variety of products throughout the year. "Our mission is to connect farmers with neighbors through cooks," explained owner Anne Little, "and that is happening in leaps and bounds. We are delighted that the Department of Agriculture recognizes the market need for more production facilities."

The expansion grant will match funds invested by Little to purchase more cold storage and better cleaning equipment. This expansion is needed to serve more customers. Serving more customers means producing more Montana-made products that in turn use more ingredients produced in Montana. "This is an economic development opportunity that benefits everyone," said Little.

Moonlight Kitchens serves as a stepping stone to help local food businesses grow at the pace that they can manage. Customers represent a string of business success stories. For example:

Theo Smith, owner of the Masala food cart https://www.facebook.com/masalamontana and http://masalamt.com/ will soon be opening a full-service restaurant on Main Street. He expects to hire a staff of 11 by the end of January, compared to 4 food cart workers he employed during the last summer season. Those employees visited Moonlight Kitchens 3-4 times per week to keep fresh food on the cart.

Tracy Lopez, who makes Montana Madre Salsa https://www.facebook.com/Montanamadresalsa/ has tripled her client list and doubled her use of Moonlight Kitchens since April. She’ll be hiring for the first time next spring.
Heath Carey’s business, Nourishing Cultures, makes kombucha, a fermented beverage that is produced with heat but must be kept cold once it’s made. He relies on the cold storage offered at Moonlight Kitchens and operates year-round.

Max Smith runs the Missoula Grain and Vegetable Company https://missoulagvc.wordpress.com/ on 10 acres in Corvallis. Next summer he will use the expanded cold storage space at Moonlight Kitchens to keep his produce fresher for his growing customer base of wholesale cooks, retail customers, and CSA members.

According to Little, facilities like hers act as a kind of catalyst to nudge would-be cooks and caterers to try out an idea they’ve had in the back of their minds for a long time. This is true even in the off-season, which is a planning time for many food businesses. "We have three new customers this week who are preparing for the months ahead. We’re becoming the appetizer preparation spot for a connoisseur who puts on wine tasting events. We’ve also got regular weekly cooks in the dead of winter. And in December, we’ll be hosting a birthday party for eleven-year-olds, who will be learning about cooking locally as a form of entertainment!"

Little enjoys helping people get started and take next steps. She and Pat Little, her spouse and business partner, are both certified food managers. This means that they are able to provide professional support and encouragement through regulatory hoops and practical problem solving. They especially like to build bridges between cooks and regional farmers, from Plains and Dixon in the north down to Hamilton in the south. "We serve as informal brokers, introducing potential business partners to each other and providing services that allow them to expand together. With this new matching grant, we’re expecting a very strong year ahead."

From: Moonlight Kitchens

Contact: Anne Little

Tel: (406) 493-7113

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://moonlightkitchens.com