Taproot A Lopez Kitchen

Taproot Community Kitchen is a non-profit shared-use certified commercial kitchen on Lopez Island. Our commercial kitchen is available to rent by the hour and we also provide food storage for frozen, cold, and dry goods.

Over the last ten years, Taproot Community Kitchen has become a vital hub where the threads of community, sustainability and nourishment intertwine. Currently, many Lopez businesses use our kitchen and storage space, including Just Heavenly Fudge Factory, Chicaoji Sauce, Vortex, Island Grazing Table, Patito's Sweets, Salty Heifer Burger Shack, David's BBQ and Setsunai – just to name a few!  We also work with a range of non-profit organizations such as the Food Share, Lopez Locavores, and the LIFRC Gleaning program. 

We are happy to announce the addition of a new cook room which is scheduled to open in June and will allow us to transform into a full-scale local food processing facility. This new kitchen space will include additional storage space, a sizable range, a commercial baker’s oven, a steam jacketed kettle, and a large processing and cooking area. With the completion of cook room it’s now time to refocus on our much-used prep kitchen!

During this Give Lopez season we are raising funds to make some meaningful upgrades that will enhance accessibility, improve our workspace, and support the original kitchen — the prep kitchen.

Here’s what your support will help make possible:

• Redo the Prep Kitchen Flooring! It’s seen the creation of so much delicious food and it’s time to refresh it so our kitchen users can keep creating safely and comfortably.
• Refresh the Office to accommodate finished products and create a streamlined zone for packaging — making workflows smoother and more efficient.
• Reframe the Main Door to the Prep Kitchen to make our space welcoming and navigable for all.

With your support, we hope to make these changes a reality and keep growing in ways that matter.

We believe Taproot plays a pivotal role in addressing food insecurity on Lopez Island.  “From plow to plate, all islanders – seed savers, farmers, sauce-maker, home-maker and also people who just like to eat good food – stand to benefit from a vibrant local food economy.” says Randall Waugh, Board, Chair of Taproot Community Kitchen. “And, in order to have a self-sufficient, sustainable local food economy, we need a local food processing facility like Taproot.”

With its prep kitchen and now fully equipped cook room, Taproot will be able to foster many kitchen opportunities and offer small business support.  Our priority is to continue to expand food security here on Lopez Island in partnership with the many organizations focused on our local food system. Taproot wants to emphasize that building food security infrastructure is a generational community investment. 

Please help us in growing an abundant, sustainable local food system that is both affordable and accessible. Your donation, volunteerism, or advocacy contributes to a stronger, more enduring, and vibrant island food web.

Thank you from the Taproot Board and our kitchen's current and future food vendors!