To grow the edible economy in the greater Gardiner area by increasing access to and demand for locally and sustainably produced foods; preserving and encouraging small-scale farming and production by ensuring their profitability; educating community members about nutrition, cooking, food preservation and agriculture; and helping to revitalize downtown Gardiner. To meet these goals, KLFI's number one focus is the opening of the Gardiner Food Co-op & Cafe, a space that is community-owned and community-driven, with its main foci being local foods, the health of the local economy and serving as a social anchor for Gardiner. Through this future space the Gardiner Food Co-op & Cafe (which is the butterfly that the KLFI caterpiller transformed into!) will be able to fully serve the community and accomplish any and all of its goals and projects while creating more economic markets for farmers and producers, connecting consumers with local and healthy food sources, and educating people about good local and healthy food.  The opening range is this spring 2015!NOTE: We would also like to add that although we will most likely surpass the yearly revenue limit of $100,000 for acceptance in this program this coming year, this is THE critical year for this project.  We have been boots on the ground, volunteer led and organized for the past almost 4 years now, and all of these community efforts have finally culminated in the soon-to-be Gardiner Food Co-op.  We are very much a large project on a shoetring budget (in comparison to the achievements and expectations), and we really would benefit from your support to ensure that all of it was well worth the effort for years to come and for the benefit of our entire community and beyond.  Even though this year we will surpass the mark, we will also have a close to zero cashflow, having large monthly expenses that "eventually" sales will equal and surpass, but we must ensure proper training and excellent lendership for this to happen.  With our minimal start-up budget, it can be hard to decide to put aside the needed funds for training, when we must also pay for so many other start-up costs.  Having access to additional support would help us to reserve these extra funds and still accomplish what we need with our budget. We really appreciate your continued support in this final and very exciting leap into the brick and mortar world!