Kitchen cultivates community connections

Created in 2019, Seneca County Common Ground is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting local food and agriculture while promoting access to fresh foods for residents. As part of this mission, the Tiffin Community Kitchen launched in July 2025 to provide educational opportunities and a teaching space for Tiffin and Seneca County. Since opening, the kitchen has been busy offering a diverse range of classes and hosting team-building events for local businesses. Experience-based classes included a seafood cooking workshop featuring clams, oysters, salmon and crab cakes. Other highlights were the "Bourbon, Cigars and Dinner" event and "Tacos and Tequila Night," where participants learned to prepare authentic tacos using fresh, local ingredients. On the educational front, the kitchen offered a cooking series led by Rob Malone of The Turntable, as well as a baking series and a six-week basic cooking course led by Lynn Light of Heidelberg University. The facility also hosted a six-week class for Juvenile Probation Courts, a medicine series with Havens Herbs, and its first business seminar focused on restaurants, bakeries and cottage food laws. The space also served as a hub for social and professional gatherings. Events included a Rotary team-building session and a "Soul Food/Motown Night" where Light guided participants in making fried chicken and biscuits. The local library and Tiffin University both rented the kitchen for holiday parties, which featured mixology classes and hors d'oeuvres. The year concluded with a "Holiday to Remember" weekend focused on cookie decorating. Emily Riehle, executive director of Common Ground, said more than 500 people attended events and classes in 2025. "The Community Kitchen is making a significant impact, and we look forward to continuing our mission of bringing the community together through culinary experiences," Riehle said. Looking ahead, the kitchen has several new ventures planned. A new baking series begins in March, followed by another cooking series with Malone. The Juvenile Probation program will return for a six-week series in July. Collaborations are also expanding, with upcoming partnerships involving Pivot Courts, Mental Health and Recovery Services, and "Women Empowering Women." Additionally, the kitchen will co-host a gardening preparation event with the Franciscan Earth Literacy Center. A full schedule of classes and events is available on the organization's website and Facebook page. "The kitchen is the heart of the home, but a community kitchen is the heart of the neighborhood," Riehle said. "Here, we don't just teach cooking — we cultivate connections, nourish dreams and serve up hope one meal at a time."