FARMFED COOPERATIVE - MT. PULASKI, IL

DIVERSIFYING MARKETS THROUGH A COOPERATIVE FOOD PROCESSING FACILITY

FEASIBILITY AND VIABILITY, OPERATIONS PLANNING | 2021 - 2022

Food Works Group (FWG) worked with the Farm-Fresh Enterprise Development Cooperative (FarmFED Co-op) to complete the planning for and roll-out of a food-grade aggregation and storage facility in Central Illinois. Despite the region’s rich agricultural resources and increased specialty crop production in recent years, the region lacks the infrastructure for local growers to reach larger buyers year-round through solutions such as light processing. FWG evaluated the market for frozen and lightly-processed products; identified core competencies for the facility; supported facility design, equipment selection, and food safety certification; and developed protocol for processing and warehousing of product to ensure source and values transparency.