Building Community Through Shared Kitchen Ithaca and The SMORG
Shared Kitchen Ithaca (SKI) is helping local food entrepreneurs turn culinary ideas into thriving businesses. As a regional partner in the Southern Tier Startup Alliance, the nonprofit provides affordable access to a fully equipped commercial kitchen, along with the tools, guidance, and community connections entrepreneurs need to grow.
Since opening its 4,000-square-foot commercial kitchen in 2024, SKI has become a hub for local food businesses, supporting everyone from emerging chefs to packaged food producers. More recently, initiatives like The SMORG, a rotating marketplace featuring SKI members, have created new opportunities for entrepreneurs to connect directly with customers and expand their reach.
We caught up with founder Rod Rotondi to learn more about SKI’s mission, the community behind its success, and what’s next.
For those who aren’t familiar with Shared Kitchen Ithaca, how would you describe your mission and the impact you’re hoping to have on food entrepreneurs in the region?
Our mission at Shared Kitchen Ithaca (SKI) has been to fill a gap in the local food economy- the lack of accessible and affordable commercial kitchen space. Most small food entrepreneurs wanting to grow and scale their business have come up against this gap. Some had financial privileges which allowed them to build their own commercial production facility. The vast majority of food entrepreneurs, and especially those from under-served and economically challenged populations, had been blocked by a “stainless steel ceiling”. SKI has filled that gap with a four thousand square foot commercial kitchen with state-of-the art equipment and a fully customized facility. We now provide the space, tools, and professional guidance and support for our local food entrepreneurs to prosper.
Our impact is in enhancing support for local entrepreneurship and job creation, increasing community engagement, growing local culture and quality of life, strengthening regional food security, and supporting local organizations addressing food insecurity.
What inspired the idea to transform the former taco stand into a rotating marketplace for local food businesses?
The former taco stand, now known as “The SMORG” came about as a collaboration between The Finger Lakes ReUse Center and SKI in order to offer our local food entrepreneur members a way to get their food out into the community, build a following and their revenues. We realized it was a win for all involved and especially the Ithaca community who now have access to a revolving cast of culinary cuisines created by local chefs. We are expanding and improving The SMORG this summer with a new building, sign, electricity and more.
How does this new venture support your broader goal of helping local food entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses?
The SMORG has turned into an excellent vehicle for getting our members out into the community where they are getting lots of attention, able to build a following, and grow their businesses. For instance, we have a program helping support them to get their packaged foods into GreenStar Coop, which has been an excellent and incredibly supportive partner in supporting our local food entrepreneurs.
Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about Shared Kitchen Ithaca or what’s coming next?
We truly believe that “it takes a village”. By building community relationships and trust, individuals and organizations can make a massive positive impact.
SKI is growing by leaps and bounds because of our community supporters and allies. We are now 36 members with another couple joining in the first days of August. A big support for this growth has been a grant from the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency! Which subsidizes the kitchen expenses of under-resourced SKI members. This support has enabled these individuals to join SKI and so grow and scale their businesses. It has also helped SKI grow our membership and cover our expenses so we can continue to serve the community. We have created the Stone Soup Fund to enable others in our community to contribute to supporting our local food entrepreneurs.
Hungry to see it in action? Stop by The SMORG at 214 Elmira Road, Ithaca, NY (outside the Ithaca ReUse Center), where a rotating lineup of Shared Kitchen Ithaca members serve up fresh menus throughout the season.