CHI Franciscan and its nutrition-oriented Northwest Healthy campaign has signed on as the lead sponsor of the Public Market at Point Ruston.

The partnership between CHI and Point Ruston, a residential and commercial development on Tacoma’s Commencement Bay waterfront, will support the new market and provide ongoing wellness education and interactive opportunities for living healthy lives, officials said.

The market will feature a demonstration kitchen and an event kitchen with interactive cooking experiences inside the 30,000-square-feet retail space, housing locally-sourced meats, produce, and year-round culinary experiences. The demonstration kitchen accommodates local vendors to showcase their products, work with local chefs, and allow shoppers to watch, ask questions, and get recipes. The event kitchen is a full kitchen, available for community and private meetings and events.

“The kitchens help the community explore the important relationship between food and nutrition,” said Holly Martindale, a registered dietitian at St. Joseph Medical Center, one of the medical facilities operated by CHI Franciscan.