Since COVID-19 began in early 2020, the Hedding United Methodist Church building had been closed to public worship until recently and has been unable to serve food to the Barre community. Though difficult, the closing of our kitchen facilities has given us a chance to focus more on food insecurity issues in Central Vermont. As a result, we’ve concluded that a commercial kitchen will better serve the needs of the greater community; by expanding our own capacity to provide much needed meals, and by serving as a community resource for culinary training programs designed to improve economic stability in the area.