A kitchen incubator is a business that has invested in kitchen equipment and cooking space to be rented by food entrepreneurs. Kitchen incubators allow local food entrepreneurs to scale up their production with lower costs than if they expanded production from a private facility or residence. In this photo, Commonwealth Kitchen Incubator Manager Tom Phibbs and workshop attendee Jim Converse of Common Wealth Regional Development told local television station WKBN27 News in December 2014, “We don’t have anything in the local neighborhood, and a lot of these people have to ride a bus and transfer buses to do their shopping. And now they can just walk to the store.” Local food production brings food producers closer to consumers, letting producers save money on fuel, putting fresh food within reach of more people, and reducing transportation-related pollution.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) in Youngstown, Ohio, requested assistance from the Local Foods, Local Places program. On April 23-24, 2015, a team of agricultural, transportation, environmental, public health, and regional economic experts visited Youngstown to work with residents and local food groups to explore strategies to support local foods and community revitalization. By coupling local food production with smart growth strategies, communities can create vibrant places while protecting people’s health and the natural environment. EPA’s Smart Growth Program has tools, publications, and technical assistance to help communities achieve these goals.