For 27 years, the Mukwonago Food Pantry Resource Center has provided a variety of goods and services to assist nearby community members through the provision of energy and medical cost assistance, school supplies and food. But a new community kitchen project aims to add additional services to the MFP’s offerings.

The site for the kitchen will be located at 225 Eagle Lake Ave. in a vacant building that was gifted to the MFP Resource Center in 2013. The project will be facilitated with the help of Milwaukee-based general contractor Remodeling Innovations Group (RIG), Chef Justin Johnson of Sustainable|Kitchens and The Boelter Companies.

According to a release distributed this week, the Community Kitchen will resemble a home economics classroom of sorts where "all food canned, preserved, dehydrated or otherwise prepared by families and individuals will be taken home when complete for them to enjoy."

The project, which is spearheaded by MFP Resource Center Executive Director Cindy Eggleston, will rely heavily on funds raised through a GoFundMe campaign. All money raised will be used to renovate the southwestern portion of the MFP Resource Center into a working classroom kitchen, to procure residential kitchen equipment and staff and develop cooking classes to be offered. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring.

To enhance the work of the kitchen, the MFP Resource Center has also established fresh produce donations with Michael Fields Organic Farming in East Troy, The Hunger Task Force Farm in Franklin and local farmers in the surrounding communities.