KickStarter.com Fundraises For Entrepreneurial Ideas

Help turn a great food idea into reality

If you admired that kid down the street with the lemonade stand but never had the entrepreneurial spirit yourself, don't despair. Now there's another way to invest in great culinary ideas: KickStarter.com.

This new website takes a hip approach to microfinance: Budding artists, inventors and entrepreneurs post their project ideas and fundraising goals online, invite strangers to chip in–and offer thank-you perks in exchange for their pledges.

Not surprisingly, food is a recurring motif, and there are plenty of success stories already, including a documentary about Good Humor ice cream trucks and a cookbook inspired by Chicago's Hideout restaurant.

Here are three more delicious ideas worth investing in:

Bring Back Butter A Philadelphia-based inventor has plans to build a pedal-operated butter churn that he'll set up at city events. (The churn also toasts bread.) Chip in $35 and get a "Bring back butter" T-shirt.

My Friend's Mustard Anna Wolf is combining her love of mustard and beer to create her own condiment. She's partnering with Brooklyn's Sixpoint Ales to produce two flavors–and has already lined up vendors. Pledge $80 and you'll score mustard swag and an invite to the launch party.

Edible City Recently, there's been a spate of cautionary food films, but East Bay Pictures is working on a more optimistic addition to the genre. Its documentary focuses on urban farmers, sustainable agriculture organizations and other food heroes. Pony up $25 and you'll receive a DVD; a pledge of $500 buys input on the final cut.