Our Village Kitchens

10/31/2024

My Little Free Pantry has seen better days...but it still does what it is supposed to do by providing food for the hungry nearby. Tonight, to my complete amazement, one of my favorite neighbors, John Weeks asked if there might be room for a store of supplies that he had on hand.

Look what John did!

If you need food...the address is 3270 Connally Street in College Park. If you have food you would like to donate please feel free to bring it by. If the pantry is full, you can leave what you have by the double front doors. We will bring it inside and replenish the Little Free Pantry as needed.

How am I going to sleep now knowing what my friend did? I am so incredibly grateful. Thank you thank you thank you!

09/10/2024

We have a new feature here at Our Village Kitchens we call the Member Spotlight.

It is our pleasure to introduce you to Atarah of Blackest Berry Bakery! We had an opportunity to ask Atarah a few questions and we are sharing our time together with you here!

How did you discover your love of baking?

I remember baking as a child, but not being very good at it. I started baking again as a hobby in my early twenties and ended up baking birthday cakes for my friends' children's birthdays and baking pies in my free time.

How long have been baking?

I started baking around 2015 as a hobby but started operating as a business around 2016.

What made you decide to focus on this particular baking niche?

I have always been lactose intolerant, but I started eating plant-based around 2015. I always struggled to find desserts with no dairy and realized this was something other people were looking for as well. I began getting customers who were lactose intolerant, with egg allergies, for children's parties to not exclude any children with allergies, as well as vegans.

What is your proudest accomplishment so far?

My proudest accomplishment was the wedding cake and cupcakes I made for a fellow vegan business. It was a tiered cake, which I didn't do often. It also included dozens of cupcakes and had to be delivered over an hour away. I had to perfect the cake and cupcake decoration, keep the desserts cold and steady on mountain roads, and set up with a wedding of people watching. The situation tested my organization, planning, problem-solving, and ability to stay calm in a stressful situation.

Any funny stories about being a baking entrepreneur that you can share?

The funniest story about baking in my life was when I was baking as a child with my sister. We were making a strawberry cake that included eggs in the recipe. We did not mix the eggs well enough into the batter and there were scrambled eggs in the cake. Thankfully that never happened again and I no longer bake with eggs anyway!

Where do you hope to be with your baking in five years?

I'd love to run a cafe, coffee shop, or stand-alone bakery serving a variety of vegan desserts, premade cakes, custom cakes, and other savory snacks. I'd also love to get my products into grocery stores.

We have the honor of working with Atarah and cannot say enough good things about her incredible talent.

If you would like to reach out for your own plant-based pastries, you can reach Atarah at http://www.blackestberrybakery.com

12/04/2022

We are so excited to share what the elves at Irwin Street Community Kitchens have been creating just for you! A Little Night Market begins Friday, December 9 and goes through Sunday. The hours are 5 to 9 pm each night. We'll have everything from fantastic food gifts to handmade brooms, to ornament making for the kids to photo ops in front of our Winter Wonderland. Come enjoy hot chocolate, apple cider and the merriment of the season with all local vendors.

05/13/2021

Folks...! We've got another set of rising stars on our hands!!!

Dianna King founded her vegan cheese business, Dianna's Foods, last year, and has since been selling subscriptions and jarred cheeses online...

01/27/2021

An interesting fact...in spite of everything happening in the world...we are actually growing! More people than ever are looking to start their own food businesses and because we are WAY less expensive than our competition...we're busier than ever.

If you have been delaying getting your dream food concept off the ground, maybe now is your time. If your concept falls into the following categories we can help you:

jams and jellies
baked goods
preserving/fermenting
bottled beverages
sauces
candies and chocolate
meal prep
repackaging
product testing

Just a note: if you are a caterer or have a food truck you will want to find a Georgia Health Department kitchen. We are solely supervised by the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

Please share this with anyone you think might need us. Thank you!

11/30/2020

We are so proud to welcome Ree Ree Dee's Dough to our growing list of success stories! Who doesn't like frozen cookie dough? True that but you want to get your hands on these amazing things because these are simply beyond. This is a GREAT gift for the holidays for those late night emergencies. Check out their website and get in on the yumminess!

Ree Ree Dee's Dough

05/19/2020

With all the changes in the air and in the world now might be the time for you to pursue the dream you've been dreaming. We help launch greatness. Maybe you are next.

Spots are filling up faster than ever and we'd love to hear from you while we still have openings. We are here and ready to help.