Boundary Food Hub Virtual Grand Opening
Public invited to attend on Saturday, March 20 at 2:00 pm through Facebook live
The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary and the Boundary Community Ventures Association (BCVA) will host a virtual grand opening of the Boundary Food Hub on Saturday, March 20 to celebrate a major milestone toward greater local food security and economic opportunities for regional food producers and processors.
To view the event, go to https://www.facebook.com/
The virtual event will include comments from supporters, partner organizations, and features a video with some Boundary processors. The Food Hub will assist individuals and businesses interested in commercial food production and processing opportunities across the region. It will provide facilities and support services to entrepreneurs who wish to create value-added food products and take their local food production to the next level, growing their businesses and showcasing the bounty the Boundary has to offer.
A shared-use commercial bakery will be the first Food Hub facility slated to open in May in Greenwood. It will feature pie making and processing equipment for a variety of baked goods. Construction of a value-added meat processing facility in Rock Creek is in the planning stages. The facility will provide cut-and-wrap and co-packing value-added services for meat producers. A community food-safe laboratory to be operated by FoodMetrics Laboratories, through a partnership with the Small Scale Food Processor Association, will be set up in Greenwood. The lab will allow smaller food producers to meet all required food safety standards to sell their products to commercial buyers, including those in the Hotel/Restaurant/Institutional and Retail markets.
The RDKB is hosting the Boundary Food Hub project which will be owned and operated by the Boundary Community Ventures Assn. This is a new organization created to foster economic ventures best suited to a region-based approach.
The B.C. Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries provided an $800,000 grant to purchase food-processing equipment and to cover other start-up costs in partnership with the RDKB and the BCVA. The BC Food Hub Network helps small-scale businesses access shared food and beverage processing space and equipment to increase their production and sales.
Quotes
“The expansion of the B.C. Food Hub Network means that more communities in the Kootenay Boundary region can enhance food production at the local level,” said Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. “Farmers and food processors work together to create local food options for British Columbians and I’m excited to see how this investment will help more bakers in Greenwood create new products and how meat producers are going to benefit from the technology in the Rock Creek location.”
“On behalf of our board of directors I gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries for making the Boundary Food Hub possible. This is exactly the kind of practical support we need to move closer to a sustainable and secure food system for all our residents. I am really proud of the work everyone did to make this project happen so fast – well done,” said Diane Langman, chair, RDKB Board of Directors.
“There is no better way to help people than by giving them the tools to help themselves. The Kootenay Boundary Food Hub is going to make a positive difference to many local food producers who need access to professional-grade equipment and testing facilities to build their businesses,” said Grace McGregor, chair/president, Boundary Community Ventures Assn and RDKB Board of Directors vice-chair.