The former Copperfield’s Books used-book annex in downtown Sebastopol is being transformed into a community kitchen geared around creating healthy meals for those with health conditions such as diabetes, auto-immune disorders, malnutrition and obesity.
Flourish, a project of the Aushadi Health Foundation, will feature a cafe serving food prepared in the ayurvedic approach to nutrition, which in part views food as medicine. There will also be a small retail store with locally made products. In the back half of the space, there will be a commercial kitchen to support a variety of cooking and educational classes. The facility also plans an herbal apothecary and herb-processing facility, drying racks, a fermentation area and a cheesemaking station. The space will also serve as an incubator for startup food companies in need of a certified kitchen.
Laura Barncard, board member for the Aushadi Health Foundation, says Flourish will also provide free food boxes to those with diabetes. She hopes for construction to begin in December after a $200,000 fundraising goal is reached. For more, see www.aushadihealth.com.—Stett Holbrook
