Farmers' market stalwart My Little Dumplings wants a more permanent kitchen to create its diverse range of farm fresh, seasonally inspired dumplings. So, it's turning to crowdfunding site Indiegogo in order to raise $45,000.

"The objective for us is to have a bigger production kitchen," says chef and founder Bashir Munye. He has been working out of a series of rented kitchens and starting December 1, he'll be located at 1372 Queen Street East at the corner of Greenwood in Leslieville. He'll be there until April 1.

Munye is using Indiegogo to raise money for pricey kitchen equipment such as a bake and steam oven and a walk-in fridge and freezer. He has garnered more than $7,000 in his first 16 hours.

For the past three years, Munye has been taking My Little Dumplings, a name inspired by his three children, across the city. He's a regular at the Evergreen Brick Works' Saturday market, for instance. However, while he runs his crowdfunding campaign, he's also expanding his offerings.

Next week, Munye will start up a grab-and-go service on Thursdays and Fridays at his temporary Queen and Greenwood storefront. "It's going to be an extension of what we do at the farmer's market, so it's going to be My Little Dumplings Plus," he says.

Along with his signature dumplings and steamed buns, he hopes to serve soups, salads and other prepared foods.

My Little Dumplings isn't the first local food-related business to try its hand at crowdfunding. Toronto chef Dave Mottershall used Kickstarter to transform Loka Snacks into Loka, a permanent restaurant that he recently opened at Queen and Bathurst.

What do you think of restaurants using crowdfunding? Let us know in the comments.