BATON ROUGE — The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank and Three O'Clock Project's joint community kitchen is expected to be finished by the end of 2027. 

A spokesperson for the food bank said that the project, which aims to cook up to 1,000 meals a day at first, will be funded through private donors. 

The project is also expected to scale up its production to 5,000 to 7,000 meals a day at some point after the kitchen begins operation. 

"Through partnership with Three O'Clock Project, who have successfully operated a food rescue kitchen, we will continue to operate this model on a larger scale," a spokesperson continued. "The Community Kitchen will combine the Food Bank's extensive distribution network, volunteer base, regional reach, and experience delivering nutrition-focused programs in schools and healthcare settings with Three O'Clock Project's experience in food rescue and child nutrition programs to create a space where rescued food can be transformed into healthy, prepared meals."

WBRZ previously reported that the partnership will bring together the food bank's distribution network, volunteer base and nutrition programs with the Three O'Clock Project's background in food rescue and child nutrition to turn rescued food into prepared meals.