RUMFORD – A committee devoted to developing a shared kitchen is needed to get the idea off the ground.

That’s the opinion of Mark Hews of Threshold to Maine. He has been working with the town’s Agricultural Committee and others involved in the development of a kitchen, possibly on the third floor of the River Valley Technology Center.

“This is part of a larger effort to rebuild the local agricultural infrastructure,” he said.

Hews plans to bring the proposal for a committee to the Aug. 6 meeting of the River Valley Growth Council.

“This needs to be a local effort. The growth council and the chamber need to step forward to make this happen,” he said.

“With the local foods movement, people want to buy as many local products as possible,” he said.

But money is needed, and grants to make a kitchen happen, are crucial.

The growth council is accepting surveys from potential kitchen users. Once data is compiled, the type of needed kitchen equipment will be known.

Hews said a shared kitchen won’t be large to begin with, and will be geared toward most needed uses.

Diane Ray, a growth council member, was an early leader in the shared kitchen concept. She is still working on it. A year ago, she held a series of meetings for potential users.

One of those was Julie Kiley, a stay-at-home mom of two teenagers. She’s still interested and recently returned her survey. She is a home baker who creates carrot cakes, breads and other baked goods.

“I would like to do that as a small business,” she said. “I’d like to be able to sell the products I make and I can’t from home.”

For small producers, acquiring necessary permits can sometimes be prohibitive. Having the permits in place at a shared kitchen is a strong draw for Kiley.

“When there’s another meeting, I will be there,” she said.

The Agricultural Commission received a $10,000 state grant a couple of years ago for use in putting together a long-term agricultural plan. Besides the shared kitchen concept, the commission sponsors a weekly farmers’ market, is working toward possibly branding items that come from the River Valley area, and is looking at other agricultural needs.

Hews said Western Maine isn’t trying to be the breadbasket of the east.

“But we should be able to feed ourselves,” he said.

He said four shared kitchen projects are being developed around the state.