Access to Nutritional Food
Our commercial Central Kitchen ensures that all children in our Children and Family Services program have the right nutrition to get their brains and bodies working and ready to learn every day! We prepare and serve delicious, nourishing and daily breakfast and lunch plus snack for over 550 children participating in our high-quality free and affordable child development program.
We are proud to be federally funded through the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
The Central Kitchen also incorporates fresh produce from our Production Farm regularly into culturally-appropriate menus! For many children, the Central Kitchen provided meals are a primary and reliable source of daily nutrition. Learn more about the nutritional food we provide.
In the future, we will also look to construct a chicken coop, an outdoor kitchen for food demonstrations, and offer planting and harvesting events and celebrations.
Support for Food Businesses
Need a Kitchen or Commissary? Located at 4308 Redwood Highway #100 in San Rafael, the Central Kitchen is a 2,000 square foot facility, one of only a few commercial kitchens in the county. The kitchen provides a base of operations for local food-focused small businesses and is available for use 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The kitchen is appropriate for food trucks, caterers, bakers, and entrepreneurs! As space permits, our kitchen is also available for one-time and long-term tenancy and is the perfect space for someone just starting a business or might need a little extra space or storage.
Please note that a Community Action Marin representative is on site just 6am – 2pm, Monday – Friday. Click here to see our kitchen and storage rental rates.
Career in the Food Industry
Our Kitchen Apprentices Program trains and mentors those seeking a career in the food industry or entrepreneurship opportunities focused on food. The program, which takes place in our Central Kitchen, will equip individuals with the knowledge and skills to develop and launch a small food business or to join the larger food and hospitality industry. Learn more about this exciting high demand career opportunity now.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you send an email to Marie-Claire Kabahizi, Operations Coordinator, and she’d be happy to help you.
Unfortunately, the minimum for kitchen rental is eight hours.
We do offer some storage in our facility. It includes dry storage, as well as in our refrigerator. We also provide appliance storage as well.
In October, 2021, we moved from baking our artisan, 100% organic granola in our home kitchen to the Central Kitchen. With the friendly support of the staff and Chef & Kitchen Manager, Jose, we had a smooth transition and were able to not just preserve the handmade, high quality of our granola, but also improve the productivity by enhancing the process using the expanded workspace and multiple professional convection ovens. We feel we are now well positioned to grow even further in 2022 and beyond. Thank you CAM!
Sally Li
Owner
Chantelle’s Granola
Food Truck Inquiries
We also serve as the commissary for local food trucks and welcome inquiries. If interested, please click on the link below to send an email to Betsy Bateson, Food Justice Manager, by clicking the email link below.