Valerie @ Cowan Creek

Cowan would like to take this time to formally thank the team at Grow Appalachia headquarters for including Cowan in the USDA Community Food Project grant. We are also excited for our partner sites and happy to be in their company as we make these community kitchens happen.

A group of folks in Letcher County have been working a little over a year to bring the kitchen to life and this is such welcome news and hopefully the catalyst that this project needs.  There are as many questions as answers, but the kitchen is moving.

Recently, Holly asked for a few lines on what the commercial kitchen might mean to Letcher County.  I gave a fair answer, but truth is….we don’t know.  A business plan is almost complete with the help of KCARD and it looks solid.  Honest, I’m not as solid on the numbers as some, but will share what I think it means or could mean to the community.

  1.  We can accomplish what we set out to do.  I know there is much more than this, but communities like Cowan, Whitesburg, Letcher County and the region need success stories.  Proof of concept that dreams can become realities.  How proud so many can be when this is really open for growers and producers.
  2. When finished this kitchen will have folks from many different entities working together.  Before the first can of beans are canned, we’ve already been a success and laid a foundation for future projects.
  3. The possibilities for the kitchen are numerous.  Just as your kitchen is likely the heart of your home, this kitchen will be the heart of our community.
  4. A kitchen for beginning growers to practice their entrepreneurial spirtis.

I’ll share more details soon, with all the particulars.  In the meantime, this grant will give us the boost we need.