Running a shared kitchen is hard. You don't have to figure it out alone.
You're a problem-solver. But some challenges need someone who's been there before, someone who knows this industry, understands your model, and can give you real guidance without a six-month retainer. That's what the Consulting Circle is for.
About the Consulting circle
A curated network of consultants, matched to your needs
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Vetted
Every consultant is reviewed and approved for expertise, professionalism, and shared kitchen experience.
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Independent practitioners
Not employees of The Food Corridor. Consultants set their own rates and work directly with you.
Free to get matched
No cost to apply or get matched. You only pay once you decide to hire.
Who it's for
Built for operators at every stage
The Consulting Circle is designed for shared kitchen operators who need targeted, expert input. You might be a good fit if you are:
Pre-launch & Early stage
In the planning or pre-launch phase and need feasibility, facility design, or business model guidance — or newly open and working through your first operational challenges.
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Established & Growing
Already operating and ready to optimize, scale, or pivot — or facing a specific, high-stakes decision and want an outside perspective before you move forward.
New Operator
A new owner or administrator of an existing kitchen who wants to get up to speed quickly and build a strong foundation from the start.
How it works
Four steps to hire your consultant
There's no cost to apply or get matched. Once matched, you'll pay the consultant's rate for their time.
1
Tell us what you need
Fill out a short intake form describing your kitchen, stage, goals, and project budget. You can indicate a consultant preference — we'll honor it where possible.
2
We match you
TFC reviews your submission within 2 business days and connects you with 1-3 consultants who best fit your project.
3
Discovery call
Each matched consultant reaches out to schedule a 30-minute intro call. Get acquainted, discuss your project, and decide together if it's a fit.
4
Move forward
You choose the consultant you want to work with. Your consultant proposes a scope — from a focused hourly session to a multi-session engagement. TFC earns a referral fee on matched engagements. Consultants set their own rates independently.
The discovery call is free — but it isn't a free consulting session. Come prepared to describe your challenge and goals. Save your specific questions and detailed guidance for a paid engagement. There is no obligation to proceed, and no payment is required until after the call. The call itself is a mutual introduction, not a consultation.
Projects require a consultant budget — typical engagements start at $100 an hour.
Areas of expertise
What consultants can help with
Planning & Feasibility
Market analysis · Business model development · Financial feasibility · Funding strategy · Stakeholder alignment
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The Consulting Circle
MEET THE CONSULTANTS
Food Works Group
Food Works Group (FWG) is a woman-owned consulting firm specializing in shared-use kitchens, food hubs, and multi-use food facilities. FWG works at every stage — from feasibility and needs assessments through facility design, equipment planning, and financial modeling — helping operators move from concept to a financially sustainable space. Every engagement is grounded in direct stakeholder input from the farmers, vendors, and entrepreneurs who will actually use the space, paired with rigorous, adjustable financial modeling that gives operators a real tool for decision-making long after the engagement ends. Clients range from nonprofits and food banks to farmer cooperatives and economic development organizations.
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Expertise:
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La Cocina
La Cocina is a San Francisco-based nonprofit consulting practice specializing in food business incubation, commercial kitchen operations, and program design for economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs. La Cocina works at every stage — from feasibility and viability assessments through program development, facility design, and ongoing operations — helping organizations move from early concept to a fully functioning incubator program. Every engagement draws on two decades of direct incubator experience, 100+ years of combined staff food industry knowledge, and a proven track record of 88 active businesses and 45+ brick-and-mortar launches. Clients range from grassroots kitchen projects to established incubators across the US and internationally, including organizations in Beirut, Cape Town, Chicago, New York, Nashville, and Auckland.
Expertise:
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Holly Fowler
Holly Fowler is the founder of Northbound Ventures, a Vermont-based consulting firm specializing in food systems, outdoor recreation, and community economic development. Since 2013, Holly has worked with communities, regions, and states across the country — many through U.S. EPA technical assistance programs — partnering with organizations focused on improving health and economic outcomes in under-resourced urban and rural areas. Holly works directly with the cross-sector partners who hold a stake in each project, from municipalities and food policy councils to regional planning commissions and economic development agencies. She specializes in places facing complex, layered challenges and helps them build focused action plans to attract the resources needed to fulfill their goals.
Expertise:
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Ali Moxley
Ali Moxley is the founder of A.Moxley Consulting, a firm specializing in connecting food businesses with funding opportunities. Ali works with farmers, food processors, food hubs, and farm stops across the country — with a focus on small- to medium-scale operations, family-run businesses, and cooperatives. Services range from grant writing and federal system registration to back-end grant management and reporting, with a specialization in funding that supports regenerative and sustainable practices. Ali operates on an hourly rate model rather than flat-fee, offering greater flexibility in scheduling, hours, and payment structure to meet clients where they are.
Expertise:
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New England Food Business Advisors
New England Food Business Advisors (NEFB) is a consulting firm specializing in hands-on, results-driven work for small businesses, nonprofits, and shared kitchen operators. With over 40 years of combined industry expertise, NEFB helps operators navigate new business chapters, optimize kitchen operations, and work through complex regulations with confidence. Every engagement starts with understanding the client's specific needs and goals — whether that's improving operations, reviewing cost of goods, creating educational programming, or ongoing monthly coaching. NEFB brings practical, hard-earned knowledge trusted by food entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and industry leaders.
Expertise:
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New Venture Advisors
New Venture Advisors is a multidisciplinary consulting firm helping communities and organizations turn ambitious ideas into successful food businesses and programs. Since 2010, the firm has completed hundreds of feasibility studies, business plans, strategic plans, and implementation projects across the United States, working with nonprofits, local governments, foundations, economic development organizations, and food entrepreneurs. New Venture Advisors has extensive experience supporting shared-use commercial kitchens, food hubs, food innovation centers, and other food system infrastructure projects. The team combines rigorous market analysis, financial modeling, and stakeholder engagement with practical operational experience to develop recommendations that are both visionary and achievable — helping clients make confident decisions and build financially sustainable operations.
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Expertise:
What to expect
What this is — and what it isn't
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A financial investment in your business
Independent consultants in our network are experts in their field, with a reputation for delivering work held to the highest standard. This early investment can potentially save you thousands in avoidable mistakes.
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Real answers, not just frameworks
These are practitioners, not theorists. They've managed shared kitchens, navigated the regulations you're dealing with, and built the systems you're trying to build.
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We match, you take it from there
We identify the best fit, make the introduction, and get out of the way. We do not supervise or guarantee the outcome of the consulting engagement itself. The engagement is between you and your consultant.
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Not legal or tax advice
Consultants provide professional guidance, not legal or tax advice. For those, please work with a licensed attorney or accountant.
FAQ
Common questions
No. Submitting the intake form, the matching process, and the 30-minute discovery call with your matched consultant are all completely free. You only pay if you decide to move forward with a paid consulting engagement after the discovery call — and that decision is entirely yours.
Rates vary by consultant and project scope, since each consultant sets their own pricing independently. As a general guide, most engagements range from a focused advisory session starting around $1,000 to full project engagements of $20,000–$100,000 or more for feasibility studies, financial modeling, facility design, and other larger scopes. For reference, here's how project fees typically tier out across the types of work our consultants handle:
Advisory & strategy sessions: $1,000 – $20,000
Operational systems, compliance audits, market analysis: $20,000 – $50,000
Financial modeling, feasibility studies, multi-phase projects: $50,000 – $100,000
Facility design, construction-related, and large capital projects: $100,000+
Your matched consultant will provide a specific quote based on your project during or after the discovery call.Not necessarily — but you should have a realistic budget in mind. The Consulting Circle is designed for operators who are ready to invest in professional consulting support, not for early exploratory conversations without a project behind them. If you're actively pursuing funding and want to understand what consulting support might look like once it comes through, that's a reasonable place to be. If you're not sure whether you're ready, submit the form anyway and we'll give you an honest answer.
The Consulting Circle works best when you have a specific challenge, decision, or project that would benefit from expert outside guidance — whether that's a feasibility study for a new kitchen, an operational overhaul, a financial sustainability question, developing new incubation services, a compliance issue, or a facility design project. It's less suited for very early-stage "I have an idea" conversations without a defined project or budget, or for operators looking for free advice. If you're unsure whether your situation is a good fit, submit the form and we'll let you know.
The discovery call is a free 30-minute conversation between you and your matched consultant. It's a mutual introduction — an opportunity for you to describe your project and goals, and for the consultant to share their relevant experience and approach. The purpose is to determine whether you're a good fit to work together, not to solve your problem on the spot. Come prepared to describe your challenge and what success looks like. Save your specific questions, data requests, and detailed guidance for a paid engagement.
Before the call, take a few minutes to write down: what you're trying to accomplish, where you're stuck or uncertain, what you've already tried, and what a successful outcome looks like. The more clearly you can describe your challenge, the more useful the call will be. You don't need to have all the answers — that's what the consultant is for — but the clearer your framing, the faster you'll be able to assess whether this is the right fit.
We review submissions within 2 business days and send introductions shortly after. Your matched consultant will reach out to schedule the discovery call within 3 business days of introduction. The full process from form submission to discovery call typically takes about one week.
Yes. The intake form includes an option to indicate a preference for a specific consultant based on the profiles on this page. We'll honor that preference where possible, subject to availability and fit. If your preferred consultant isn't available or isn't the right match for your specific need, we'll let you know and recommend an alternative. The final match decision rests with TFC.
That's possible and sometimes the right call — particularly if your project spans multiple areas of expertise. If your intake suggests a multi-consultant approach, we may send your form to more than one consultant and let you run discovery calls with each before deciding how to proceed. You can also indicate this preference in your intake form.
Most engagements are conducted virtually via video call. Some consultants are available for in-person site visits depending on location and project type — facility design, compliance walk-throughs, and construction-related work often benefit from an in-person component. Indicate your preference on the intake form and we'll factor it into the match.
Payment goes directly between you and your consultant — not through the Consulting Circle or The Food Corridor. Once you agree to move forward after the discovery call, your consultant will send you a project scope or letter of intent outlining the work and their payment terms. The Food Corridor earns a referral fee from the consultant on contracted projects, but that arrangement is between The Food Corridor and the consultant and does not affect your rate.
Yes. Your intake form responses are reviewed by our staff and shared only with the consultant(s) we match you with. Consultants are required under their program agreement to maintain confidentiality of all operator information and may not share your details with any third party without your consent.
Every consultant in the Consulting Circle has been reviewed by The Food Corridor based on their direct experience working with shared kitchens and food hubs, the quality and relevance of their past projects, and their professional standing. All consultants carry professional liability insurance and have agreed to The Food Corridor’s program standards, including confidentiality requirements and a commitment to industry-standard professional conduct. We don't list generalists — everyone here has specific, hands-on experience in the shared kitchen space.
We'll tell you. If your project scope, geography, or budget doesn't match any of our current consultants, we won't force a bad match — we'll let you know, explain why, and either suggest a timeline for when we might have a better fit or point you toward other resources in our network. Getting you the right help matters more than getting you a referral.
Tell us. If the match didn't feel right — wrong expertise, wrong fit, wrong scope — we'll do our best to find a better alternative or give you an honest assessment of whether a different type of support might serve you better right now. We'd rather rematch or redirect than leave you with a consultant who isn't right for your situation.
Your consultant will propose next steps — typically a written project scope or letter of intent outlining the work, timeline, deliverables, and cost. You review it, agree to terms, and the engagement begins. The Food Corridor isn't involved in that agreement — it's directly between you and your consultant. If anything feels unclear or off at that stage, you can always reach out to us at tyler@thefoodcorridor.com.
Yes, and it's common. Many USDA, CDFI, state agricultural, and community development grants allow or earmark funds for technical assistance and consulting services. If you're planning to use grant funding, note it in your intake form — some of our consultants have experience helping operators frame consulting costs as eligible technical assistance within grant budgets.
After your consulting engagement wraps up, someone from our team will reach out with a brief satisfaction survey. We use this feedback to maintain the quality of the Consulting Circle, improve our matching process, and ensure consultants are delivering value to the operators we send their way. Your feedback is confidential and genuinely used — if something didn't go well, we want to know so we can make it right.
You don't have to wait. If something isn't working — the scope shifted, communication broke down, the fit turned out to be off — reach out to Tyler at tyler@thefoodcorridor.com at any point. We'd rather hear about a problem mid-engagement than after the fact, and we can help facilitate a conversation or rematch if needed.
You can apply to be a consultant here. The Consulting Circle is a curated program and we selectively grow our roster based on expertise, shared kitchen experience, and fit with our operator community. We'd love to hear from qualified practitioners.
Ready to be paired with a consultant?
Submit your intake form — it's free, and we'll review it within 2 business days.
Questions? Email tyler@thefoodcorridor.com