OH Taste Foundation

What OH Taste Foundation does

OH Taste Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2023 and headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, with a mission to grow the local economy by providing resources to food entrepreneurs. The foundation was co-founded by Charlynda Scales (founder and CEO of Mutt's Sauce), Dabriah Rice (owner of Divine Catering and Events), and Jamaica White, connected through the Downtown Dayton Partnership. It serves food entrepreneurs — including food business startups, caterers, food trucks, and entrepreneurial chefs — along with the broader Dayton community as a secondary beneficiary of local economic development.

The foundation operates two interconnected programs. The 6888 Kitchen Incubator is a multi-phased project sponsored by the Fifth Third Foundation: Phase 1 delivers the Sharpen the Axe (STA) financial literacy and business coaching curriculum for food and beverage businesses, including an accelerator pilot cohort and program evaluation work; Phase 2 will design, build out, and operate a commercial kitchen and storage facility offering market-rate rental opportunities, advanced mentoring, ingredient sourcing support, marketing and distribution facilitation, and access to capital services. The brand "6888 Kitchen" honors the WWII 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the first and only all-Black Female Women's Army Corps unit deployed overseas, which was based in Dayton under Major Charity Adams.

Revenue is intended to come from two streams: market-rate kitchen rental income from commercial tenants (treated as recurring/subscription-style) and fees from the Sharpen the Axe program (professional services-style). Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is handled on a quote basis. The go-to-market motion is community-led, relying on relationships with the Downtown Dayton Partnership, social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), direct outreach to food entrepreneurs, and sponsor visibility from the Fifth Third Foundation. Governance is provided by a board drawing on Deloitte, Fifth Third Bank, Sinclair College, Central State University, Frost Brown Todd, BBC Distributing, and the LW Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

Name

OH Taste Foundation

Legal name

OH Taste Foundation

Website

https://ohtaste.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

OH Taste Foundation is a Dayton, Ohio-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports food entrepreneurs through the Sharpen the Axe financial literacy program and the planned 6888 Kitchen Incubator commercial kitchen facility, sponsored by the Fifth Third Foundation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Business Incubation Services

NAICS

Special Food Services (7223)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Entrepreneurship (Food Trucks/Small Business) (EDAOAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB)

Keywords

• Food business incubator
• Commercial kitchen rental
• Entrepreneurship education
• Nonprofit community development
• Financial literacy programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Dayton

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Kitchen Rental Revenue: The 6888 Kitchen Incubator generates revenue through market-rate rental opportunities for usage of commercial kitchen space. Tenants rent space to cook and scale their food businesses.
2. Program Fees: Revenue from business development curriculum and financial literacy programs (Sharpen the Axe) for food entrepreneurs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

OH Taste Foundation provides food entrepreneurs access to a shared commercial kitchen (the 6888 Kitchen Incubator) and a structured business coaching and financial literacy program (the Sharpen the Axe / STA Program). The core service is rented kitchen time and entrepreneurship education aimed at helping small food-business founders formalize and scale their operations.

Product overview

OH Taste Foundation operates as a food business support organization offering two interconnected programs: the 6888 Kitchen Incubator, a multi-phased project providing shared commercial kitchen space and business development support for food entrepreneurs, and the Sharpen the Axe (STA) Program, a financial literacy and business coaching initiative specifically designed for food and beverage businesses. The 6888 Kitchen Incubator includes Phase 1 business curriculum development through the STA Program and Phase 2 commercial kitchen operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 6888 Kitchen Incubator: A multi-phased project that includes business curriculum development, Sharpen the Axe program, and future commercial kitchen and storage space operations for food entrepreneurs.
• Sharpen the Axe

Products and services

• 6888 Kitchen Incubator A shared commercial kitchen facility in Dayton, Ohio that food entrepreneurs can rent to produce and scale their food products, addressing the lack of affordable licensed kitchen space for early-stage founders.
• Sharpen the Axe (STA) Program A structured business coaching and financial literacy curriculum for food entrepreneurs, designed to build operational, financial, and business-management skills alongside access to kitchen space.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Downtown Dayton PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConnected three local businesswomen founders through shared belief in the need for a shared kitchen concept downtown. The partnership facilitated the initial collaboration that led to OH Taste Foundation's formation.
• Sinclair CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDerek Allen, Hospitality Management instructor at Sinclair College, serves as Community Development Chairman on the board, contributing educational expertise to the organization's programs.
• Central State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrandie Duncan, Director of Financial Operations at Central State University, serves as Finance Chair on the board, contributing higher education finance expertise.
• DeloitteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMyron Rankin, Program Manager at Deloitte, serves as Treasurer on the board, contributing professional services firm expertise to financial management.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Kitchen United: Larger, for-profit operator of shared commercial kitchen facilities for restaurant and food operators. Comparable product (commercial kitchen rental to food operators) but as a scaled commercial platform rather than a nonprofit education-anchored incubator.
• CloudKitchens: National ghost-kitchen / commissary infrastructure provider offering commercial kitchen space optimized for delivery-only food operators. Overlaps on the kitchen-rental value proposition but targets delivery/dark-kitchen operators rather than early-stage food entrepreneurs.

Direct peers

• Emma's Torch: Brooklyn-based nonprofit that combines culinary training and refugee/immigrant resettlement with a catering social enterprise. Comparable as a nonprofit food-business training program with both an educational program and an operating food venture.
• La Cocina: San Francisco-based nonprofit kitchen incubator that provides affordable commercial kitchen space, business incubation, and a wholesale marketplace for low-income and immigrant food entrepreneurs. Closest functional peer to OH Taste's 6888 Kitchen + curriculum model, differentiated by geography.
• Hot Bread Kitchen: NYC nonprofit incubator for food entrepreneurs, particularly immigrant women, offering commercial kitchen access, business training, and wholesale distribution. Highly comparable mission (support food entrepreneurs via kitchen + curriculum) and similar target persona.
• Union Kitchen: DC-area food business accelerator offering commercial kitchen rentals, distribution support, and mentorship to food entrepreneurs. Comparable multi-service (kitchen + business support) incubator model.
• The Hatchery Chicago: Chicago-based nonprofit food and beverage incubator offering shared commercial kitchen space, programming, and mentorship to food entrepreneurs. Same operating model (kitchen rental + business support) and similar target customer segment.

Emerging players

• Foodhini: Chicago-based food delivery platform for immigrant home chefs, supporting food entrepreneurs without their own commercial kitchen. Adjacent to OH Taste's mission of enabling food-entrepreneur scale without upfront commercial-kitchen investment.
• Eatside: Emerging commercial-kitchen and food-business support platform targeting early-stage food entrepreneurs. Partial overlap on shared kitchen infrastructure and SMB food founder support, though at a smaller scale than OH Taste's nonprofit-anchored model.

Others

• SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives): U.S. nonprofit network providing free business mentoring and education to small-business owners, including food entrepreneurs. Complementary rather than directly competitive — relevant as a potential curriculum/model reference for OH Taste's STA program.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ohtasteorg
• Facebookfacebook.com/ohtasteorg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ohtaste
• Instagraminstagram.com/ohtasteorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 OH Taste Foundation