Who we are
FoodLab Sydney is a not-for-profit kitchen incubator that supports food entrepreneurs from high-barrier backgrounds to grow and formalise their food businesses. We do this by providing affordable kitchen space for hire, technical assistance, mentoring and sales opportunities through our own corporate catering business.
We focus on supporting refugees, migrants, Aboriginal Australians and low-income entrepreneurs by offering affordable kitchen space, industry-specific resources, mentoring and sales opportunities.
Our vision is to create a vibrant, local and inclusive food system driven by entrepreneurs from high-barrier backgrounds doing what they love to do and achieving financial security.
Supporting FoodLab means supporting gender, ethnic, and racial diversity within our local food system.
What we do
n 2018, two academics from the University of Sydney, Professor Alana Mann and Professor David Schlosberg, found through a research study that there was a lack of support for food entrepreneurs in Sydney and an abundance of informal, ‘under-the-counter’ food businesses in operation.
Looking to models overseas, they found FoodLab Detroit, a globally recognised US program that addressed local, racial and socioeconomic equity in food entrepreneurship.
Bringing the model to Australia, FoodLab Sydney began in 2019 as a partnership program between the Sydney Environment Institute (at The University of Sydney) and City of Sydney.
What started out as a series of workshops and classes soon evolved into a mentoring program, a community, and finally, a culinary business incubator.
Now, FoodLab serves high-barrier entrepreneurs who approach their business as a pathway to economic freedom, seeking a way to take control of their economic lives.
Head office:
- New South Wales
Service location(s):
- New South Wales
Type(s) of actor:
- Social enterprises
Area(s) of activity:
We’d love to hear from you!
Reach out to one of our team members, and share input and ideas about how we can evolve Understorey.
Get in touch