Press Release: Food Web's Grand Launch Dec 8

HALIFAX, NS - November 17th, 2025

Food Web, a Nova Scotia based startup dedicated to strengthening local food systems, is proud to announce the official Grand Launch of Food Web Kitchens on December 8th!

Food Web is a digital platform that connects commercial kitchens with food entrepreneurs who need licensed space to operate. After two years of research, partnerships, and on-the-ground community engagement across Atlantic Canada, Food Web Kitchens is now live and ready for kitchen owners to begin listing their spaces. As part of the launch celebration, kitchens that sign up before December 8 will receive 25% off platform fees for a full year.

Building the Infrastructure for Local Food Businesses

Across Atlantic Canada, thousands of commercial kitchens sit unused for large portions of the week. From churches and community centres to restaurants, cafés, farmers’ markets, and event facilities. At the same time, demand for part-time kitchen access continues to rise among:

• Farmers’ market vendors
• Caterers and meal prep companies
• Bakers and confectioners
• Packaged food brands
• Immigrant-led food businesses
• Early-stage food entrepreneurs

Many of these businesses need only part time kitchen access (as little as one day per week) so they can get off the ground.

Introducing Food Web Kitchens

A Clear, Simple Platform for Shared Kitchen Use

Food Web Kitchens makes it easy for commercial kitchens to offer their space for part-time use, and just as easy for food entrepreneurs to find a licensed place to work. The platform brings everything into one streamlined system so both sides can operate with confidence and clarity.

How It Works for Kitchen Owners & Operators

Food Web makes it simple for kitchen owners and operators to monetize their kitchen by renting out unused hours in a safe, structured, and fully managed way. Kitchen owners can:

• List their kitchen in minutes with a guided onboarding flow
• Set their own availability and hourly rates
• Connect only with vetted, document-ready food businesses
• Let the platform handle admin: bookings, payments, agreements, and messaging
• Earn extra revenue from hours that would otherwise sit empty

How It Works for Food Entrepreneurs & Renters

Food entrepreneurs use Food Web to:

• Browse licensed kitchens across Nova Scotia (and beyond)
• Join a regional waitlist if no kitchens are available nearby
• See what’s required to operate legally before they book
• Upload insurance and documents in one central profile
• Communicate and book directly through the platform
• Pay securely without chasing invoices or unclear expectations

This gives renters a clear pathway to access safe, affordable, licensed space.

Early-Bird Promotion for Kitchen Owners

To celebrate the Grand Launch, kitchens that sign up before December 8 receive:

✨ 25% off platform fees for a full year

This offer is designed to reward early adopters and help seed the first wave of shared-use kitchens across Nova Scotia.

Want to Learn More?

We’re here to help. If you want to understand shared kitchens, see the platform in action, or talk through your specific needs, our webinars and demo calls are the best place to start.

Weekly Webinars

Food Web hosts free weekly sessions covering:

• How shared kitchens work
• What renters need to operate legally
• What kitchen owners need to get rental-ready
• A full platform demo
• Live Q&A with Justin

👉 Signup for webinars

1:1 Demo Calls

For kitchens or food entrepreneurs wanting individualized support, Food Web offers personal demo calls where you can preview the platform, ask detailed questions, discuss your specific situation, and get clarity on what you need to get started.

👉 Book a Webinar

Why This Matters for Nova Scotia’s Food System

Understanding the Challenge

One of the clearest insights to emerge from our work over the past two years is just how widespread the challenge of kitchen access really is. No matter where we went, Cape Breton, the Valley, the South Shore or Halifax, it didn’t matter who we spoke to.

Everyone was saying the same thing.

Farmers’ market managers told us about talented vendors who couldn’t scale because they couldn’t secure consistent kitchen time. Economic development officers spoke about entrepreneurs in their regions who were ready to grow but stalled out waiting for a licensed space. Food business owners shared stories of sending dozens of emails, making countless phone calls, and still ending up without a kitchen.

Across rural communities, small towns, and even in Halifax, the barrier was identical: finding a kitchen to rent was confusing, inconsistent, and often impossible.

“We need better access to commercial kitchens.”

To better understand these challenges, and to build solutions rooted in real, lived experience, Food Web facilitated a province-wide series of focus groups funded by a LearnSphere commercialization grant. Over the course of the tour, we met with:

• Farmers and market vendors
• Immigrant entrepreneurs
• Caterers and bakers
• Community kitchen managers
• Public health workers
• Nonprofits and community food organizations
• Municipal and regional economic development officers

We heard the same frustration again and again, expressed in different accents, different buildings, and different contexts, but always the same message “We need better access to commercial kitchens.”

Years in the Making: Research That Shaped the Platform

Before Food Web launched its province-wide engagement this spring, the foundation for Food Web Kitchens had already been developing for years. What looks like a new platform today is actually the culmination of long-term research, lived experience, academic collaboration, and countless conversations with people working across Nova Scotia’s food system.

Food Web’s approach is grounded in multiple layers of research, each helping us understand the barriers facing food entrepreneurs and the untapped potential inside community kitchens.

Validation Through Lab2Market Incubator

During Dal Innovates Lab2Market Launch program, we conducted interviews with more than 80 food businesses across Atlantic Canada. Their stories were remarkably consistent: Difficulty finding kitchens, unclear approval processes, inconsistent pricing, and lost opportunities due to lack of access. These conversations confirmed that the kitchen-access problem wasn’t isolated; it was widespread and structural.

Long-Term Academic Partnerships

For two consecutive years, Food Web partnered with Dalhousie University’s College of Sustainability, where student researchers examined shared-use kitchen models, mapped local food infrastructure, studied regulatory barriers, and interviewed food entrepreneurs. Their findings laid the early conceptual groundwork for what Food Web Kitchens would eventually become. Read the Research

Insights from Lived Experience

Food Web’s roots also come from lived experience. As a former chef, farmers’ market vendor, and local food educator, founder Justin Andrews struggled for years to find consistent kitchen access. The obstacles he experienced personally, along with the challenges faced by the entrepreneurs he supported, reinforced the need for a simple, modern solution.

Together, these years of research shaped the core of Food Web Kitchens. They informed how the platform is designed, how documentation is handled, how bookings work, and why everything is built to be clear, accessible, and supportive for both kitchen owners and renters.

The People Behind Food Web

Food Web is built by people who have lived and worked inside the food system for years — people who understand the challenges firsthand and are committed to strengthening the region’s local food economy. Our team brings together culinary experience, community engagement, technology expertise, and decades of combined leadership across food, sustainability, and entrepreneurship.

Core Team

Justin Andrews — Co-Founder & CEO

A professionally trained chef turned food systems researcher and entrepreneur, Justin has spent his career working across farms, markets, kitchens, nonprofit programs, and academic research. His lived experience struggling to access commercial kitchens forms the foundation of Food Web’s mission. Justin leads strategy, partnerships, and community engagement across Atlantic Canada.

Keegan Francis — Co-Founder & CTO

A technology entrepreneur with deep experience in digital infrastructure, platforms, and Web3 systems, Keegan leads all product and engineering work at Food Web. He brings years of startup experience, technical leadership, and a passion for building tools that empower communities.

Mariah Pelley-Smith — Designer & Brand Architect

Mariah Pelley-Smith is a brand strategist and UX/UI consultant who bridges the worlds of branding, design, and technology to build impactful, user-centered businesses. As the founder of MIBV, Embodied Wealth Academy, and Creative DAM, she has spent nearly a decade crafting compelling brand identities, refining digital experiences, and integrating emerging technologies to drive business transformation.

Advisors

Food Web is guided by a group of advisors who bring deep, diverse expertise from across food systems, entrepreneurship, technology, and local economic development.

Lil MacPherson: Co-founder of The Wooden Monkey restaurant and a long-time champion of the local food movement in Nova Scotia. Lil brings decades of experience building sustainable food businesses and navigating public policy, community engagement, and local food advocacy.

Andrew Bergel: Director of the College of Sustainability at Dalhousie University, professor, and former hedge fund manager. Andrew provides guidance on finance, sustainability, academic partnerships, and strategic thinking.

Rebecca Tran: Owner of The Station Food Hub, a regional food processing facility. Rebecca understands the operational realities of shared-use kitchens, food production, and local food logistics. Her insight strengthens Food Web’s approach to infrastructure sharing.

James Wood: Software developer and food entrepreneur based in Montreal. James has personally experienced the challenge of finding kitchen space for his own food business, and he brings technical expertise, lived experience, and support for expansion into Quebec and French-speaking markets.

Contact Us

We welcome conversations with anyone interested in shared kitchens, local food systems, or Food Web’s work across Nova Scotia. Whether you’re a journalist, a community partner, a kitchen owner, or a food entrepreneur, we’d be happy to connect.

For media inquiries, interview requests, or quotes, please reach out directly.

For general questions, partnership ideas, or support getting started, we’re also here to help.

Justin Andrews

Co-Founder & CEO

📧 justin@foodweb.network