Commonwealth Autism in Chesterfield

Commonwealth Autism opened its new community kitchen in November. The TowneBank Community Kitchen was created to address the growing need for affordable, accessible kitchen space for farmers' market vendors, food entrepreneurs, and value-added food producers.

“These businesses often struggle to find certified commercial kitchen space that is convenient and supportive of their growth. Our kitchen provides Health Department-certified facilities along with the services and resources needed for these businesses to flourish,” says Tyler Hart, CEO. 

The kitchen offers a combination of traditional kitchen prep space as well as educational class space. The 700-square-foot space will offer life skills classes to the people the organization serves and will help generate revenue for Commonwealth Autism (CA) as local business owners rent the space. It will also address the need to expand production space for Good Foods Grocery. 

Good Foods Grocery was a Richmond-based independent grocery store that found a new home with CA in 2023. “Good Foods Grocery was a key step toward launching our workforce development program,” Tyler says. “This program provides employment and training opportunities for autistic individuals, empowering them to thrive in the workforce. With the addition of the TowneBank Community Kitchen, we are furthering our commitment to fostering a community where everyone has the opportunity to succeed within our community’s food system.” 

Commonwealth Autism opened its new community kitchen in November. Named the TowneBank Community Kitchen, it offers kitchen space that is affordable and accessible. 

Commonwealth Autism operates Good Foods Grocery that employs autistic individuals, giving them a chance to thrive in the workforce. 

With a history dating back to 1995, Commonwealth Autism’s mission is to unlock opportunities that help autistic individuals achieve their full potential. Tyler says, “TowneBank has been an incredibly supportive partner from day one. They have helped us secure financing to purchase Good Foods Grocery and contributed to our capital campaign to build the new community kitchen. We named the space to honor TowneBank because of their generosity to our organization over the years. I can say that we would not be where we are without the endless support of vice president and commercial banker Betsy Lacy and all the TowneBank folks!” 

For more information, visit CommonwealthAutism.org.