PRISM Economic Development Corp.

What PRISM Economic Development Corp. does

PRISM Economic Development Corporation is a Wisconsin-based nonprofit organization founded by Parklawn Assembly of God Church that operates a portfolio of food-focused economic development programs in Milwaukee's Sherman Park neighborhood. The organization's core offerings include UpStart Kitchen, a shared commercial kitchen incubator providing 24/7 access to professional-grade equipment, storage, and business mentorship for food entrepreneurs; Cultivate, a 12-week youth hydroponics farming program using Fork Farms technology that teaches high school-aged participants sustainable agriculture, financial literacy, and business skills; and Medical Meals, a free, medically tailored meal program delivered in partnership with Ascension's Ebenezer Resource Center and Children's Wisconsin to food-insecure community members managing chronic illnesses. The organization is tightly integrated with the local community, with participants in the Cultivate program selling produce to UpStart Kitchen entrepreneurs and to the partner-operated Sherman Park Grocery Store, creating a closed-loop food ecosystem.

The organization's revenue model is hybrid and donation-dependent, combining charitable contributions (one-time and recurring at preset tiers of $10–$40 or custom amounts), commercial kitchen rental fees from UpStart Kitchen members, and program grants and microloans. Distribution is direct and local: services are delivered through the physical facility at 3725 N. Sherman Blvd, the partner grocery store at 4315 W. Fond du Lac Ave, and referral-based outreach via community organizations including Running Rebels. GTM motion is community-led, relying on word-of-mouth, community events such as the MKE Food Crawl, an in-house blog (PRISM Stories), email newsletter, and social media (@prismedc on Instagram). Underlying technology is limited to the Fork Farms hydroponic platform and standard web infrastructure; there are no disclosed AI/ML capabilities, proprietary software products, or APIs. Governance is provided by a board chaired by Betty Hill, with Bishop Walter Harvey serving as Executive Director; the organization is privately funded with no venture or institutional capital disclosed.

Name

PRISM Economic Development Corp.

Legal name

Prism Economic Development Corporation

Website

https://prismedc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PRISM Economic Development Corporation is a Milwaukee-based nonprofit that runs UpStart Kitchen (a commercial kitchen incubator), Cultivate (a youth hydroponics farming program), and Medical Meals (a community nutrition program) to support food entrepreneurs and address food insecurity in the Sherman Park neighborhood.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Economic Development

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Access & EdTech for Equity (Low-cost Learning, Skills Platforms) (BPAGALAH)

Keywords

• Commercial kitchen rental
• Food entrepreneur incubation
• Hydroponic farming education
• Community nutrition programs
• Economic development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The organization relies heavily on donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors to fund operations and programs. Donation options include one-time, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual giving with preset amounts ($10, $20, $30, $40) or custom amounts.
2. Commercial Kitchen Rental (UpStart Kitchen): Flexible rental options for culinary entrepreneurs to access commercial kitchen space with top-of-the-line equipment and 24/7 access. Revenue generated from kitchen usage fees.
3. Program Fees and Grants: Financial assistance programs including grants for new UpStart members (kitchen fees), small microloans for licensing and operations, and support for certifications. Also receives grants for program operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PRISM EDC is a nonprofit food-related economic development organization operating the UpStart Kitchen shared commercial kitchen incubator (with 24/7 access, professional-grade equipment, and business mentorship for food entrepreneurs), the Cultivate youth hydroponic farming program (a 12-week program teaching high school students sustainable agriculture and financial literacy), and the Medical Meals program (free, medically tailored meals for food-insecure individuals in partnership with healthcare providers). These programs collectively support food entrepreneurship, youth workforce development, and community food access in Milwaukee's Sherman Park neighborhood.

Product overview

PRISM Economic Development Corporation is a nonprofit organization that operates as a food-related economic development hub focused on the Sherman Park community in Milwaukee. The organization offers a portfolio of interconnected programs: UpStart Kitchen (a shared commercial kitchen incubator for food entrepreneurs providing workspace, equipment, and business mentorship), Cultivate (a youth hydroponics farming program teaching sustainable agriculture and business skills), Medical Meals (a medically tailored meals program addressing food insecurity), and the Sherman Park Grocery Store partnership (a neighborhood grocery outlet opened in 2022 to combat food deserts). These programs work together to provide a complete ecosystem supporting food entrepreneurs from training through retail sales, while addressing community food insecurity and creating economic opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UpStart Kitchen: A shared commercial kitchen supporting food entrepreneurs with flexible rental options, 24/7 access, professional-grade equipment, and mentorship.
• Cultivate
• Medical Meals
• The King's Table
• Sherman Park Grocery

Products and services

• UpStart Kitchen
• Cultivate
• Medical Meals Program A community meals program providing free, fresh, ready-to-eat, nutritionally tailored meals designed by healthcare professionals and chefs to support individuals managing chronic illnesses or recovering from medical treatments. The program serves participants at Ascension's Ebenezer Resource Center and Children's Wisconsin's community health program who are facing food insecurity.
• Sherman Park Grocery Store A neighborhood grocery store located at 4315 W. Fond du Lac Ave, Milwaukee, WI, opened in 2022 to address food desert conditions. The store provides access to fresh fruits and vegetables for the Sherman Park neighborhood and serves as a sales outlet for Cultivate program participants and UpStart Kitchen entrepreneurs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sherman Park Grocery Store celebrating 3 years of operation, fighting food insecurity and providing fresh groceries to the community
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Running RebelscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 July 2025Collaboration with Running Rebels' Credible Messengers program to provide culinary arts education and mentorship to youth. Youth from the program participated in cooking lessons with UpStart Kitchen food entrepreneurs, learning food preparation skills and entrepreneurship through hands-on experience.
• Sherman Park Grocery StorecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRISM EDC partnered with Sherman Park Grocery Store, which celebrated its 3rd year anniversary in 2025. The grocery store provides fresh produce access to the Sherman Park community and is a key outlet for Cultivate program participants to sell their hydroponic produce.
• Ascension's Ebenezer Resource CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for the Medical Meals program, providing free, fresh, ready-to-eat meals to participants facing food insecurity at the Ebenezer Resource Center location.
• Children's WisconsincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare partner for the Medical Meals program, providing meals to Children's Wisconsin community health program participants who are facing food insecurity.
• Parklawn Assembly of God ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding organization of PRISM EDC. The church has been in existence for over 100 years in Milwaukee and continues to support PRISM EDC's mission to serve the Sherman Park community.
• Milwaukee CountyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner collaborating on the Culinary Arts Class Collab with Running Rebels and UpStart Kitchen, providing culinary education opportunities for Milwaukee youth.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Regional players

• Hunger Task Force: Milwaukee-based anti-hunger nonprofit operating food banks, mobile pantries, and the Farmlink program — overlapping with PRISM's Medical Meals and Sherman Park Grocery food-access mission, serving the same metro area but at much larger scale.
• Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin: Regional food bank serving 16 southwestern Wisconsin counties with food distribution and nutrition programs — comparable to PRISM's Medical Meals and food-security work, but operating at significantly larger scale and with a different geographic footprint than Sherman Park.

Direct peers

• La Cocina: San Francisco-based nonprofit food business incubator providing affordable commercial kitchen access, mentorship, and market access to low-income and immigrant food entrepreneurs — directly parallel to PRISM's UpStart Kitchen model and target population.
• The Hatchery Chicago: Chicago-based nonprofit food and beverage incubator offering shared commercial kitchen space, business training, and capital access to entrepreneurs launching food businesses — closely comparable to UpStart Kitchen in scale, mission, and service mix.
• Union Kitchen: Washington DC-based food business accelerator with multiple shared commercial kitchen locations supporting CPG and food service entrepreneurs with production space, distribution, and retail — comparable to UpStart Kitchen in shared-kitchen plus retail/grocery enablement.
• DC Central Kitchen: Washington DC nonprofit that operates a large-scale shared commercial kitchen producing medically tailored meals for food-insecure residents while running job-training programs — directly comparable to PRISM's combined UpStart Kitchen + Medical Meals + workforce-development model.
• Hot Bread Kitchen: NYC-based nonprofit incubator supporting immigrant and women-owned food businesses through commercial kitchen access, training, and wholesale market access — comparable in mission and target population to PRISM's UpStart Kitchen entrepreneur development work.

Emerging players

• Kitchen United: Shared commercial kitchen / ghost kitchen operator providing flexible kitchen rental to restaurant and food entrepreneurs — comparable service offering to UpStart Kitchen but operating as a for-profit model targeting different (often established) restaurant brands.
• Food Recovery Network: National nonprofit focused on food waste recovery and redistribution from college campuses and businesses to communities — thematically adjacent to PRISM's food-equity and Medical Meals mission, though focused on upstream food waste rather than entrepreneurship.

Others

• Wholesome Wave: National nonprofit improving access to affordable, healthy, local food through produce-prescription and food-as-medicine programs — thematically aligned with PRISM's Medical Meals food-as-medicine direction and Cultivate produce-distribution work, though operating as a grantmaking intermediary rather than direct service provider.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/prismedc
• Facebookfacebook.com/PRISMedc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PRISM Economic Development Corp.