Written by: Fallon Brewster

The Jackson Medical Mall Foundation, in partnership with Footprint Farms, celebrated the grand reopening of its renovated Culinary Kitchen with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on February 9, 2023.

The community welcomed the JMMF Culinary Kitchen, located inside the Bailey retail entrance of the Mall, by sampling and purchasing its line of gourmet soups, salads, and all natural, fresh-squeezed juices, prepared by Chef SheShe. 

In 2015, JMMF received 3 million dollars from ArtPlace America to integrate arts & culture into its core work.  A portion of those funds were used to transform a vacant space inside the mall into a fully equipped commercial kitchen.

The vision extended beyond food preparation. The Foundation sought to improve access to healthier foods, create a distribution hub for products grown through its farm-to-fork initiative, and provide local chefs and food entrepreneurs with affordable kitchen space through hourly rentals.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted operations, the initiative gained new momentum in 2021 through the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Advancing Health & Wealth Equity Project.

The JMMF Culinary Kitchen now operates in partnership with Footprint Farms, with funding support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and sponsorship from Humana.