The U.S. Economic Development Administration has supported the Starting Block regional kitchen incubator with a $210,000 grant to be used to help buy its Hart facility. The federal grant is part of a $460,000 project to buy the building in the Hart industrial park and fund equipment costs, according to a release from U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland. The EDA estimates the federal grant will help create $600,000 in private investment.

The city of Hart is applying for a grant through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to fund the remainder of the project. The city hopes to tap a new program supporting business incubators.

The commercial kitchen and business development center for an eight-county region from Manistee to Holland is designed to move food products from the idea stage to market.

It has been in operation for about a year.

"Purchasing the building will create a significant savings that will enable us to dedicate more funds to programming costs and less on bricks and mortar expenses," said Ron Steiner, director of the Starting Block. "It will enhance the services we provide to help startup companies succeed in West Michigan."

The Starting Block has access to the food industry, agriculture and business departments at Michigan State University . It also is looking to partner with Baker College of Muskegon, Muskegon Community College and West Shore Community College to provide business training for its users, Steiner said.

Those looking to break into the food processing industry can receive expert assistance in marketing, finance, food science and packaging, among other areas. Products can be developed, tested and produced in the kitchen, which is licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"The kitchen incubator and entrepreneurial center serves as a great facility in which to launch a niche business in West Michigan," Hoekstra said in a prepared statement. "The federal investment will help more small companies get off the ground and set them on a path toward success."

One example of an early user of the Starting Block kitchen and services is BaBa's HomeCooked Foods LLC -- a family business taking a southern recipe for cornbread stuffing and turning it into a product that is being sold through Meijer Inc.

Besides BaBa's, the Hart facility already is serving 17 clients that make, among other things, fruit pies, chutney, dry-seasoning mixes, candied nuts and high-end refrigerated pastries. It also has been working with New Era Canning and Country Dairy on new product research and development.

The commercial kitchen is running at about 40 percent of capacity, Steiner said. The concept is to get a product and company to a point of "graduating" to its own facility.