Relates to offering kitchen incubators to immigrant, minority- and women-owned businesses

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1: Legislative intent. Kitchen incubators are an important resource for growing and supporting new businesses in the food industry, especially for immigrant entrepreneurs. Kitchen incubators should be recognized and supported within the New York state business incubator and innovation hot spot support act.

Sections 2 and 3: Amend Section 16-v of Section 1 of Chapter 174 of the Laws of 1968, that relates to the New York State Business Incubator and Innovation Hot Spot Support Act that was enacted pursuant to Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2013. This new provision adds a new subdivision to make grants, low interest loans or other financial support available to help finance and support the establishment or operation of kitchen incubators. Further, it provides the conditions under which such grants, low interest loans other financial support may be awarded.

Justification

Kitchen incubators are an important resource for growing and supporting new businesses in the food manufacturing industry, especially for immigrant entrepreneurs. Kitchen incubators are not explicitly included within the New York state business incubator and innovation hot spot support act. This bill provides for support within the existing program. A kitchen incubator is affordable small space with shared ovens, ranges, industrial mixers and other food processing or preservation equipment that entrepreneurs can rent to assist them in the development and manufacturing of their food products for commercial purposes. Such food processing and food preparation facilities (kitchen incubators) can also include ancillary facilities that are needed to accept, store or warehouse food supplies or finished products, and the component ingredients or storage vessels used to transport and sell such products.

More and more ethnic food entrepreneurs, often from immigrant and minority populations are faced with limited access to commercial kitchens and the technical services to help them launch their job-producing ventures. In order to improve the economic opportunities for its citizens and entrepreneurs, New York should support these incubators which can serve as economic engines to the next generation of food manufacturing businesses. In addition, this

bill pays close attention to ensure that such facilities are operated in a clean manner that complies with all local and state sanitary codes.

It has been documented that the chief obstacle for start-up food manufacturing businesses is their inability to access affordable commercial kitchen space and processing facilities to accept, store, process, and sell such finished food or food products. Currently all over the state, there are only a relatively few kitchen incubators facing high demand and which are unable to meet the needs of the many potential start-up businesses.

Kitchen incubators are valuable resources for New York State as it moves to promote more job development, business development and increased tax revenues. In New York City alone, there are more than 900 food manufacturing firms, with over 16,000 employees and another 2,500 who are self employed. This has been viewed as evidence of entrepreneurs' intent on developing their food manufacturing ideas into full scale production capabilities and fully functional business entities.

Minority and immigrant populations are growing significantly throughout the state and, hence, so are their increasing numbers in food production entrepreneurship activities, including in the development of foods from their native place of origin and with growing demand for such foods by increasing minority and immigrant communities.

New York can do more to propel these business start-ups and potential food manufacturers into full scale commercial operations both on a state-wide basis and nationally.

Prior legislative history

New

Fiscal implications for state and local government

This program will be supported by appropriations made available for the New York state business incubator and innovation hot spot support act.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately