In The News

NOTE:   This article focuses on skilled trades which are the type of jobs needed within the food processing industry in addition to employees needed to process food products.    The West Michigan Shoreline Food Processing Initiative is working with Michigan State University, Muskegon Community College, and others to provide workforce training for all food processing related jobs.  

Heard on NPR All Things Considered

ASHLEY GROSS, JON MARCUS

Like most other American high school students, Garret Morgan had it drummed into him constantly: Go to college. Get a bachelor’s degree.

“All through my life it was, ‘if you don’t go to college you’re going to end up on the streets,’ ” Morgan said. “Everybody’s so gung-ho about going to college.”

So he tried it for a while. Then he quit and started training as an ironworker, which is what he is doing on a weekday morning in a nondescript high-ceilinged building with a concrete floor in an industrial park near the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Continue reading »

State Sen. Pam Helming, R-54th District, recently secured $1 million in funding to establish the Center of Excellence in Food and Agriculture Innovation at New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva.

Centers of excellence develop and commercialize new products and technologies, promote private sector investment in high-tech fields, strengthen and grow workforce training and expand technology-related businesses and employment.

Food production jobs in the Finger Lakes increased 20 percent since 2010. The center’s goal is to promote economic growth throughout the region and state by making connections among researchers, farmers, processors, businesses and consumers.

Funding will provide entrepreneurship training, business mentorship and access to business space at Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park in Geneva. Participants will connect with commercial kitchens, food hubs and co-packing facilities. The center will foster collaboration and technical product commercialization assistance between Cornell research scientists and businesses to promote the use of technologies that define future farm and food systems.

Article is from the Daily Messenger   

Americans are warming up to frozen foods.

Consumers are eating more vegetables and protein, and their reservations about eating frozen foods — long dubbed an unsatisfying diet option or loaded with artificial ingredients — are starting to thaw. Meanwhile, frozen food companies are revamping their products to include more healthful, flavorful options. And while dishes like Mango Edamame Power Bowls or Sweet and Spicy Harissa Meatballs add an inventiveness to the freezer aisle, one of frozen foods’ chief attractions has stayed rock solid: convenience.

Continue reading »

Agropur Inc. announced it will invest $21.3 million and create 62 news jobs over the next three years at its processing plant in suburban Grand Rapids.

Most of the $21.3 million expansion project at Agropur’s at 5252 Clay Avenue SW will be for new equipment with a portion going toward building modifications, according to news releases by The Right Plac Inc and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC).

Continue reading »

These Midwestern states want food and beverage manufacturers to know they are open for business.

For food and beverage companies looking to expand their business, Michigan and Iowa want you. Recently, these two states have made investments into their assets and offerings for manufacturers, particularly those in the food and beverage industry.

Continue reading »

Plan aims to connect region’s natural resources, education and infrastructure assets to grow agriculture exports by 2020.

An ambitious plan is taking shape on the lakeshore to grow the region’s labor pool and expand product development and agriculture exports.

Continue reading »

Consumers Energy Foundation gave its largest grant ever in Muskegon County – $232,728 – to the West Michigan Shoreline Food Processing Initiative on Monday, allowing the initiative to kick off. The grant will be administered through the Community Foundation for Muskegon County.

Continue reading »

A new food processing initiative was launching in Muskegon on Monday.

A new food processing initiative was launched in Muskegon and the goal is to expand the agriculture economy on the lakeshore.

The West Michigan Shoreline Food Processing Initiative is the result of a $232,000 grant from the Consumers Energy Foundation.

Continue reading »