Impact Hub is raising $100K to build a kitchen for entrepreneurs, food nonprofits

Laurel Klein and Tom Wingert want to build a hub for food entrepreneurs and nonprofits.

They envision a community kitchen that’s a shared workspace for entrepreneurs who are just getting off the ground, as well as a place for organizations like Philabundance and the Coalition Against Hunger to find a foothold in a neighborhood that they serve. The pair is raising $100,000 to open the kitchen on the second floor of Kensington’s Impact Hub, a sprawling space that is trying to reinvent itself after its former occupant, maker and education space 3rd Ward, shut down suddenly last fall.

Their first fundraising event, a dance party, is this Thursday, May 8, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 pm. Suggested donation is $20.

Find future kitchen events here. See the proposed kitchen design here [pdf].

Klein has a masters in social work and was previously working on a food justice organization called Cafe Olam, while Wingert used to run fundraising and partnerships for social entrepreneurship organization Ignite Good.

Watch a video about the kitchen project below.