Feed Nova Scotia backs Food Web's mission to connect food entrepreneurs with commercial kitchens

A $25,000 grant from Feed Nova Scotia is helping Food Web remove financial barriers for food entrepreneurs while accelerating the growth of its shared commercial kitchen marketplace.

Justin Andrews wasn't trying to reinvent Nova Scotia's food system—he was just trying to grow his baking business.After spending six years working as a chef, Andrews launched a baking business from his apartment. But as demand grew, he ran into a challenge familiar to many food entrepreneurs: before you can sell products at a grocery store or local market, you need access to a certified commercial kitchen. For many new businesses, that access comes at a cost they can't yet afford.Rather than accepting the challenge as part of doing business, Andrews began studying sustainability and food systems. There, he discovered his experience wasn't unique. Entrepreneurs across Nova Scotia were running into the same barrier—not because they lacked ideas, but because they lacked somewhere to cook.Meanwhile, licensed commercial kitchens in restaurants, cafés, community centres and event venues sat unused for much of the week.That gap became the foundation for Food Web Asset Mapping Inc.In 2023, Andrews partnered with longtime friend and software developer Keegan Francis to bring the idea through Dal Innovates' Lab2Market program. Combining Andrews' firsthand knowledge of the food industry with Francis' software development background, the pair set out to build a platform connecting entrepreneurs with underused commercial kitchens.Following nearly two years of research, community engagement and development, Food Web Kitchens officially launched in December 2025. Today, entrepreneurs can search, book and pay for licensed commercial kitchen space through the platform, while kitchen owners turn otherwise underused time into an additional source of revenue."Food Web is the Airbnb of kitchens," says Francis. "We are a shared kitchen marketplace."According to Francis, it all comes down to what he calls a "chicken-and-egg problem.""If you want to sell a product at a market or a grocery store, then you need to make that product in a commercial kitchen. In order to rent a kitchen, you need to pay the kitchen owner, and in order to have money to do that, you need to sell your product at the market."Less than a year after launching Food Web Kitchens, the team's work received a significant boost. A $25,000 grant from Feed Nova Scotia is helping remove some of the financial barriers entrepreneurs face, with $16,000 dedicated to a credit pool supporting people who might not otherwise be able to access commercial kitchen space.For Francis, however, the grant represents something much bigger than financial support."It is a huge validation signal for us," he says. "It legitimizes what we're doing. It says that an external party sees the value in trying to get more money into local food economies."That validation has also reinforced Food Web's broader vision.As Food Web continued to grow, the team kept hearing the same questions."Can I rent my dining room?" "Can I rent my special piece of equipment?""We said, 'Not yet—but hold that thought,'" Francis recalls. "Now today, anything is bookable on Food Web."What started as a marketplace for commercial kitchens has evolved into a broader platform where food-related spaces and equipment can also be shared. Through its API, users can list everything from certified kitchens to specialized equipment, creating new opportunities for collaboration across Nova Scotia's food ecosystem.For Andrews and Francis, the goal has remained the same from the beginning: use technology to solve a real-world problem.By connecting underused commercial kitchens with the people who need them—and helping remove financial barriers along the way—Food Web is creating new opportunities for local food businesses while strengthening Nova Scotia's food ecosystem.Learn more about Food Web at foodweb.network.