Year-End Reflections on Building Boarding Axe Kitchen (2025-2026) Vermont nonprofit food access

Over the past two years, Boarding Axe Kitchen Inc. has been quietly building something practical, but also impactful. Our goal has been to build a reliable system for funding, preparing and distributing food to those in need. In that time, we have weathered storms, both figuratively and literally. We may not have grown or scaled this year as much as we might have hoped, but we survived. The more that I think about it, the more I believe that sometimes, survival is success as well. As we move into 2026 we will continue to be a Vermont nonprofit food access organization.

We were incorporated in Vermont as a nonprofit with the long-term goal of operating a soup kitchen. That was a couple of years ago at this point. While we are still early in that process, this past year marked an important milestone for us, we have now prepared and distributed over 2,000 meals in partnership with a local right to food center. Reaching that number means we can honestly say that we’ve prepared thousands of meals, even with a very small team and some help partner programs.

In 2025 we delivered 1,457 prepared meals. The year prior we delivered 791. The total being 2,248 of course drives me crazy because we were just two shy of a nice round and even 2,250... Plus, that doesn't include a large number of breads, cookies, pies, side dishes and other baked goods provided in addition to the 'meals'.

This post reflects on the past year of building Boarding Axe Kitchen, what we managed to do, what we learned, and where we’re headed next. For those who prefer to listen, the reflection is also available as a short video below.

What Our Work as a Vermont nonprofit food access organization Looks Like Today

Boarding Axe Kitchen currently operates with a small group of volunteers. We prepare meals that are distributed through a partnered Right to Food center through a continuation of the Everyone Eats program. This partnership allows us to focus on consistent food preparation while working within an established distribution network.

Although we do not yet have a dedicated facility or paid staff, food safety is a priority. We are actively working to ensure that all volunteers preparing food are properly trained. Every cook either holds at least Food Handler level certification or is in the process of obtaining it while working under the supervision of someone who is certified.

This approach reflects how we operate in general. Start small, try to do things correctly, and build systems that can scale responsibly over time.

Tradeoffs We Have Made

One consequence of prioritizing safety, education, and direct community impact is that we made less progress this year on media production and passive revenue development. We wrote fewer blog posts, made fewer social media updates, published no cookbooks, and have not yet monetized our website or YouTube channel.

That said, the most important work, feeding people and caring for our community, was accomplished. That will always remain our first priority.

Why Food Media Matters to Us

Alongside cooking and meal distribution, we’ve been developing food content such as recipes, techniques, and documentation through this website and our social platforms. This is intentional.

Our long-term vision is to support nonprofit food work through sustainable revenue generated by food media, such as advertising, digital content, and subscriptions. Rather than relying solely on donations, we are exploring ways to build a model where practical food content helps fund community meals.

When we ask for support, what we are really asking is for people to watch our videos, share our recipes, and engage with our content. While financial support is always helpful, we recognize that budgets are tight and economic uncertainty is real. It does not feel right to ask for money that may already be scarce. Instead, we are working toward a model where community support can help generate passive revenue without costing supporters their own hard-earned income.

Right now, this work is foundational. Our focus is on consistency, documentation, and learning what resonates, rather than immediate monetization.

What We’ve Learned So Far

A few things have become clear over the past year:

• Feeding people consistently matters more than scaling quickly.

• Partnerships are more important than infrastructure in the early stages.

• Cooking at scale changes how you think about recipes, cost, and waste.

• Building something sustainable takes time, especially when done alongside volunteer effort while managing jobs and other life responsibilities.

These lessons continue to shape how we move forward.

Looking Ahead

In the coming year, our goals are intentionally modest and hopefully realistic:

• Continue preparing and distributing meals through our food shelf partner

• Complete food safety training for all active cooks

• Publish food content more consistently

• Work toward federal nonprofit (501(c)(3)) status

• Continue exploring sustainable ways for food media to support food access work (ex. Google Adsense ads on website blogs, or being able to monetize a Youtube channel)

• .... Maybe win the lottery?...

We are not trying to grow fast. We are trying to grow correctly.

For a look at how to support us, and a roadmap for how and where we intend to grow, review our Support page.

Thank You!

This work is humbling. I am grateful for the support we’ve received from our community and for the dedication of our volunteers. If you’ve followed our work, shared a recipe, or taken the time to read what we’re building, thank you!

Boarding Axe Kitchen exists because of small, steady effort, and we’ll continue to share our progress as we move forward.

— Matthew C. Walker

Executive Director and Founding Member, Boarding Axe Kitchen Inc.