Fresh Food Starts Local
Quality institutional food made by local chefs, not distant factories.
Great food for schools and senior centers should come from nearby. But there's a problem: federal regulations create high costs that favor large, distant food manufacturers over local producers.
Our Approach in Greater Boston
Stock Pot Malden operates its own commercial kitchen in Malden, where we compete directly with industrial food factories by prioritizing quality alongside competitive pricing.
We serve large schools and senior organizations throughout Boston and the surrounding area.
Our Malden facility also serves as a training hub, where we develop efficient processes and cost standards that we share with our partner kitchens across the state.
How Our Partnership Works
We build true partnerships with local food entrepreneurs, sharing both responsibilities and rewards.
What Stock Pot Malden Provides
Client relationships with schools, childcare centers, and senior organizations
Kitchen facilities and equipment (when needed)
Established institutional brand and reputation
Financing and working capital
Regulatory compliance and legal protection
Purchasing power for bulk ingredients
Business support and training through our Stock Pot Academy program
What the Partner Provides
Menu design that reflects their culinary expertise and community
Ingredient sourcing and quality control
Staff management and kitchen operations
Meal preparation using their recipes and techniques
Food delivery to assigned clients
Profit Sharing
We typically split responsibilities and profits 50-50, though each partnership is customized based on what both parties bring to the table. This flexible model ensures fairness while letting local food entrepreneurs focus on what they do best—creating exceptional food for their community.
The Faces of our Local Food Partners
Our Cambridge Kitchen: Serving Childcare Centers Others Won't
Childcare centers and afterschool programs have long been underserved by institutional food providers. With fewer students than large schools, these smaller programs don't fit the high-volume model of big food manufacturers—leaving busy parents to pack meals daily.
Our hyper-local kitchen model changes that. We operate smaller facilities that can efficiently serve childcare centers with high-quality, customized meals at reasonable costs.
A Local Solution in Action
Our Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA) kitchen demonstrates this approach perfectly. Located in the Miller's River apartments, this kitchen is operated by our partner Edwin Rivera of Freaking Puerto Rico Fusion Food (FPRFF). Edwin prepares meals for CHA residents while also serving several nearby Cambridge childcare centers and afterschool programs—proudly customizing his menu to meet each client's unique needs.
Edwin Rivera, owner of Freakin’ Puerto Rican Fusion Food
A Dominican Partnership in Lawrence, Massachusetts
When schools closed during the pandemic, thousands of Lawrence children suddenly lost access to daily meals. But the city's vibrant Dominican community had an answer.
Stock Pot Malden partnered with El Pez Dorado (the Golden Fish), a beloved local Dominican restaurant, to ensure Lawrence kids stayed fed during one of the most challenging periods in recent memory. What began as an emergency response became something far more meaningful—a partnership rooted in cultural pride and community care.
Today, that collaboration has blossomed into a thriving network serving Lawrence and the Merrimack Valley. Together, we operate an on-site kitchen at a large charter school and deliver meals to multiple charter schools and childcare centers throughout the region.
Stock Pot Malden’s Own COO is a Graduate of Our Partnership Program
In 2009, Brazilian chef Lorena Lorenzet arrived at our shared kitchen with a dream and a food truck called Farm Girl. With no daytime slots available, she prepped at night while her kids slept, went home to get them ready for school, then returned to finish lunch service for clients across Boston and Cambridge.
Farm Girl quickly became one of our kitchen's stars, attracting major tech and pharma clients. When the pandemic hit, Lorena became our first local partner—a trailblazer who helped us develop the operational model we still use today.
As other food entrepreneurs sought to follow her path, Lorena's role evolved. Her deep expertise in institutional foodservice made her indispensable, and she became Stock Pot Malden's Chief Operating Officer. Today, she oversees our partner network while personally teaching modules at Stock Pot Academy—living proof that local food entrepreneurs can build lasting success while staying true to their communities.
