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The Starting Block - West Michigan's Non-Profit Regional Incubator Kitchen and Entrepreneurial Center.
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Anniversary - The Starting Block is celebrating 15 years!
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Dairy Equipment - The Starting Block has a pasteurizer for making dairy products!
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Learn More - Read the Michigan Municipal League's case study on The Starting Block. HERE
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Start your business - Your favorite recipe can become a profitable, wealth-creating business!
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The Starting Block Kitchen - Our fully equipped incubator kitchen facility is a great place to start your food business.
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The Starting Block - Our experienced and passionate staff provide the support and assistance to help your business succeed.
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The Starting Block - A home for individuals who want to take a special recipe to market.
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Entrepreneurial Support - We offer support and education opportunities to help get your business started.
Welcome
The Starting Block is a home for individuals who want to take a special recipe to market or create a food business.
We are a non-profit, regional economic development organization committed to small business development initiatives - for businesses just starting out, or companies outgrowing their current facilities.
We provide entrepreneurs, producers, and processors properly equipped, licensed, and inspected food processing kitchens at reasonable rentals without the initial investment in costly facilities and equipment.
Commercial Kitchens
The shared-use, fully-equipped commercially licensed kitchens help meet food processing needs at low hourly rental rates. Our kitchens are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week!
Small Dairy Facility
We are one of the few kitchen incubators with a 100-gallon Vat Pasteurizer for making cheese and other dairy products.
Warehouse & Storage
Refrigerator, freezer, and dry pallet storage is available for rent. Check our
Fee Schedule for more details.
Office Rental
Office rental at our facility includes utilities, desk, internet access, use of conference room and shipping/receiving area, and parking.
Additional Services
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Product Development
Technical advice is offered on food production, pH testing, recipe batching, packaging, and labeling.
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Education
Small business management, networking, and individual business guidance are offered.
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Expert Resources
In addition to the kitchen and entrepreneurial support at The Starting Block, support is available through the Michigan State University Product Center. Ongoing funding is provided through our partnership with the City of Hart.
In addition to commercial kitchens, storage, and office rental, The Starting Block offers:
