By Taylor Sisk
Staff Writer
Hoping to replicate the success of similarly designed facilities in Asheville and West Jefferson, a group of local grocers and economic development leaders are researching the possibility of setting up a shared-use food-processing center to serve small farms and food businesses in Alamance, Chatham, Durham and Orange counties. The purpose of the facility would be to foster the production and marketing of locally grown value-added foods. As conceived, the center would provide processing equipment and storage space for individuals and small businesses to produce a variety of food items. It would also provide technical support and marketing and business-planning assistance.
A study to determine the feasibility of such a facility is being funded by local governments in the above-mentioned counties and by Weaver Street Market and Whole Foods.
“On the surface, this region looks like it may have quite a number of potential users for a value-added food-processing facility,†said Smithson Mills, a researcher at Mars Hill College. Mills has been hired to coordinate the feasibility study, the first step of which is a survey of potential users. “Now we want to conduct the research to determine if there’s a sufficient base for it to be successful.â€
The study is also aimed at identifying organizations that might take the lead in managing the facility and at exploring suitable locations.
Critical to the success of providing this service to the community is a lead agency. Funding might come from private foundations, from federal government agencies or from state or local government. The lead agency would then provide fiscal oversight and management.
Blue Ridge Food Ventures in Asheville – which bills itself as a nexus within which “big ideas and secret recipes become small businesses and good eats†– is an initiative of the AdvantageWest Economic Development Group and the N.C. Department of Agriculture. Among the foods produced at Blue Ridge are apple cider, gelatos, jams, salsas, hot sauces, tomato sauce, red and green mole sauces and wine-butter reduction sauce – items that are sold in locally owned stores, at farmers markets and in the Ingles Markets grocery chain. It also provides space for several local caterers.
Up in West Jefferson, the Creative Food Ventures Kitchen is a partnership of the Ashe County Farmers Market and Ashe County Partnership for Children. The kitchen strives to increase the number of vendors who sell their goods at the local farmers market and to create business opportunities for the surrounding area. It also teams with Wilkes Community College to offer business-development classes.
Facilities of this nature are found throughout the country, Mills said, adding, “No two are alike. What form this facility should take and what manner of equipment and assistance potential users might want remains to be seen. This survey will help us get a handle on that.â€
Mills said that options would include the possibility of processing meats at the facility: “We’ll explore various ways to structure this so that meat processing might be done in an environment that meets regulatory guidelines.â€
Interested potential users should visit www.orangecountyfarms.org/VASUPintro.asp to learn more. Surveys need to be returned by August 1 to ensure that the responses are included in preliminary data analysis. To have a survey mailed to you, contact the Orange County Economic Development Commission at (919) 245-2330.