Food Fort Columbus

03/27/2026

We’re hiring a Food Business Incubator Coordinator for our Columbus headquarters! 📣 If you’re hands-on, detail-oriented, and excited about supporting food entrepreneurs behind the scenes, this could be the perfect role for you.

What You’ll Do:
Help keep our Food Fort facility running smoothly by supporting day-to-day operations, maintenance, and food safety standards. You’ll assist with programming and events, coordinate with team members and vendors, and ensure a clean, safe, and welcoming environment for our food business owners to grow and thrive.

📍 This is a 100% onsite role in Columbus, working directly within our Food Fort facility to support clients and operations.

Join a team that’s passionate about empowering entrepreneurs and building strong, local food businesses.
Apply today: ECDI.org/team

03/24/2026

Your garden can start at Food Fort. 🌱
The Food Fort is a compost pickup location for GoZERO Services, Food Waste Compost Courier this spring.

That compost? It’s made in part from food scraps collected by the small businesses inside our space.

When you order and choose Food Fort for pickup:
• You get nutrient-rich compost for your garden
• You help reduce food waste
• You support our small business community (we receive a portion of each order 💚)

📍 737 Parkwood Ave
📅 April 20 or April 24 | 10 AM–2 PM

Order here: https://monkeylink.co/e62f49

Finding locally sourced, nutrient-rich compost made from food scraps can be challenging. Figuring out ways to make it accessible can also be difficult. That's why GoZERO is partnering with local community organizations to establish community compost consignment pickup points, “pickup points” for...

03/17/2026

03/10/2026

Better grains. Local roots. 🌾

Local Millers- Regenerative Grains, Stone Ground Flours is bringing stone-milled wheat and corn from regenerative farms to kitchens across Central Ohio—and beyond. Based in Carroll, OH, this family-run business is reviving traditional milling techniques to preserve flavor, quality, and connection to local farms.

Through Food Fort’s CPG Cohort, businesses like Local Millers gain support to strengthen the business side of their operations, connect with local entrepreneurs, and grow with intention.

This is what building a stronger local food system looks like.
👉 Support Local Millers: https://monkeylink.co/2b1ef

03/05/2026

A full circle community win. 🌱

Order compost made from food scraps collected by the small businesses inside ECDI Food Fort — hauled and turned into nutrient-rich compost by GoZERO Services, Food Waste Compost Courier. Pick it up right here at Food Fort:

📍 737 Parkwood Ave, Columbus
📅 April 20 or April 24
⏰ 10 AM–2 PM

When you select Food Fort as your pickup location, your order supports our space and the small businesses operating inside it. 💚

Order details & to pre-order: https://gozero.org/community-compost-pickup-point-program

03/04/2026

A reminder to slow down, sip, and reconnect. 🌿

Swan Dance Apothecary & Tea was created around the belief that wellness is intentional. Each tea and herbal blend is thoughtfully crafted using botanicals honored by traditional healers around the world—designed to support balance, calm, and everyday rituals of care.

Founded by Gina Nicholson Kramer, Swan Dance blends a background in public health, food safety, and medicinal plants with a lifelong love of tea. The result is a wellness brand that invites mindfulness, beauty, and meaning into each cup.

This Women’s History Month, we’re grateful to support women building businesses that nurture both people and community—one intentional sip at a time.

👉 Explore Swan Dance Apothecary & Tea: https://monkeylink.co/6a3cc0

03/01/2026

In honor of , we’re celebrating women building businesses with purpose 💜

CRUNCHY RA-RA is reimagining yogurt for kids and families—made with organic, grass-fed A2A2 milk, packed with probiotics, and topped with real, dye-free crunchy goodness. No artificial junk. Just nourishing ingredients that taste great and feel good to serve.

Founded by three moms in Columbus, CRUNCHY RA-RA was created to make wholesome snacking fun again—helping kids build a joyful relationship with food while giving parents confidence in what they’re choosing. Because healthy doesn’t have to be boring.

The Food Fort team is proud to support women-owned food businesses by providing access to production space, education, and resources that help big ideas become real products on the shelf.

👉 Learn more about CRUNCHY RA-RA: https://monkeylink.co/5634c5

02/24/2026

All year long, Food Fort businesses have been collecting food scraps — GoZERO Services, Food Waste Compost Courier hauls it, turns it into nutrient-rich compost, and now it’s coming back to the community to help grow more food. ♻️

GoZero’s “Tour De Compost” pre-orders are open, and ECDI Food Fort is an official pick-up location in Columbus!

📍 ECDI Food Fort: 737 Parkwood Avenue, Columbus, OH 43219

🗓️ Pre-order pick-up dates:
• Monday, April 20 | 10 AM–2 PM
• Friday, April 24 | 10 AM–2 PM

✅ Pre-order here: https://monkeylink.co/e62f49
Ordering for Food Fort pick-up also supports our space and the small businesses inside it. Thanks for helping us turn food waste into something beautiful. 💚

Finding locally sourced, nutrient-rich compost made from food scraps can be challenging. Figuring out ways to make it accessible can also be difficult. That's why GoZERO is partnering with local community organizations to establish community compost consignment pickup points, “pickup points” for...

02/18/2026

If you’ve ever thought…
“Is my product ready?”
“Where do I even start?”
“Am I missing something important?”

You’re not alone—and you don’t have to figure it out on your own.

Our CPG 101 Cohort supports early-stage food entrepreneurs with structure, guidance, and real-world insight to help you move forward with confidence.

⏰ Apply by Feb. 20 | Limited spots available → https://monkeylink.co/f03e2e

02/17/2026

From kitchen experiments to bottled bold flavor 🌶️🔥

J Mitchell's Spices & Sauces is a Columbus-based food business creating original sauces and spice blends designed to elevate everyday cooking. After years as a professional chef, Jimmy turned his signature flavors into products now reaching customers across Central Ohio.

Through Food Fort’s CPG Cohort, entrepreneurs like J Mitchell’s Spices & Sauces gain the tools, knowledge, and support needed to grow beyond the recipe—learning how to strengthen their business, refine their strategy, and prepare for what’s next.

This is what building food businesses looks like.
And we’re proud to support it. 💪

👉 Explore the flavors: https://monkeylink.co/66cc90

02/17/2026

This is your sign to rethink hot sauce 🔥

Black Cap Hot Sauce is doing things differently—naturally fermented, small-batch sauces made with local ingredients and a deep commitment to sustainability. Every bottle reflects Ohio’s agricultural system, from supporting local farmers to composting food waste and using recyclable packaging.

What started as kitchen experiments has grown into a values-driven food brand you’ll find at farmers markets, partner restaurants, and limited-release “Secret Stash” drops.

This is exactly the kind of food business the Food Fort team loves to support—thoughtful, intentional, and rooted in community.

👉 Find Black Cap Hot Sauce: https://monkeylink.co/51a022

02/16/2026

Vendor applications for the 2026 Columbus Coffee Festival are now open!

We’re looking for all types of vendors to join us on October 3 & 4 at the Franklin County Fairgrounds.

Please complete the interest form by April 30.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdhi_uFcLbOB1-mxYko5KIqz_e6IsRJKUcTp4wG9czNhkkt1g/viewform?usp=send_form