Event at Hope & Main on May 9, 2014

WARREN, RI – Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed joined with local food entrepreneurs, officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Lisa Raiola, the founder of Hope & Main, for a “hard hat” tour and firsthand look at efforts to transform a 100-year-old shuttered school building on Main Street in Warren into the state’s first full-service food business incubator.  During the tour, Reed also announced the availability of $30 million in competitive grants for the newly-expanded Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP).  

“Rhode Island has so many talented chefs, bakers, farmers, fishermen, and more than fifty farmers markets.  This newly expanded grant program is a great opportunity to support local growers, promote Rhode Island made food and produce, and boost our economy.  I applaud USDA for making these funds available and will continue working to help Rhode Islanders compete for these federal resources,” said Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee and a cosponsor of the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act, which played a key role in making these FMLFPP grants possible.  “Rhode Island is already a great culinary destination.  I want to help the state continue building its capacity as a food hub and connect more farmers and food entrepreneurs to the resources they need to grow their businesses.”

USDA will make the competitive grants available through the Agricultural Marketing Services (AMS) Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program.  The funds are designed to help producers better market and promote healthy food access by connecting consumers with local farmers markets.  USDA’s Rural Developments Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program will also provide $48 million in loan guarantees to help expand local food projects nationally.  The Hope & Main construction project was made possible in part by a $2.99 million USDA Rural Development Community Facilities loan.

Set to open its doors later this summer, Hope & Main helps local entrepreneurs jump-start early-stage food businesses with a special focus on supporting the local food system.  During the tour, Senator Reed and Ms. Raiola joined federal officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to meet with food entrepreneurs who are among the first members of the non-profit’s incubator program and discuss the next steps in supporting Rhode Island’s local food infrastructure.

“I commend Lisa Raiola for founding Hope & Main and working so hard to get it off the ground.  This new facility will help local entrepreneurs collaborate, grow their operations, and get technical assistance to cook up exciting new business ventures and turn their ideas and recipes into commercial success,” said Senator Reed.  “Hope & Main is already providing valuable education and business support to Rhode Island food entrepreneurs, and I am excited to see what they’ll cook up next.”

Now in its final months of construction, Hope & Main’s 17,500-square foot multi-kitchen facility will provide commercial cooking and storage space for food entrepreneurs and small businesses that can’t afford the up-front costs of building their own commercial kitchens.  When completed, the renovation will feature three shared-use commercial kitchens, including a gluten-free kitchen and bakery, over 6,000-square-feet of production space, cold and dry storage, a demonstration kitchen and classroom, and a 2,000-square-foot event space.

Hope & Main is now accepting applications and already hosting workshops to help teach prospective food entrepreneurs the recipe for starting a successful food business in Rhode Island, including how to produce, market, finance, and package their products for sale.  Hope & Main is also set to partner with New Urban Farmers on a new, on-site community garden, and plans to host a farmers market.

Food vendors joining Senator Reed for today’s tour included Louby Sukkar and Matt McClelland of The Backyard Food Company and Carol and Matt D’Alessio of Matt’s Magic Brownies.

Senator Reed has been a champion of the “eat local” movement in Rhode Island and has long supported efforts to help boost Rhode Island’s food economy.  He has worked to help bring individuals and organizations from different parts of the state’s food industry together to help the food sector grow and have an even greater economic impact.  In 2004, Reed helped pass the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act, which authorized the USDA to provide grants to state departments of agriculture for the purposes of enhancing the competitiveness of specialty crops.  Earlier this year the state received over a quarter million dollars to help promote Ocean State agricultural products.  The Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act, which was authored by Senator Sherrod Brown and cosponsored by Reed, seeks to spur job creation by improving federal farm bill programs that support local and regional farm and food systems.  Many of the provisions included in the Farm Bill passed by Congress earlier this year stem from this legislation.

Reed has also cited improving our transportation networks – upgrading the state’s roads, T.F. Green Airport, ports, and rail facilities – as key to growing Rhode Island’s economy and helping the state become an important food hub.

Construction of Hope & Main’s new facilities is expected to be completed later this summer.

Rhode Island organizations interested in additional information about the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program grants and the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program are encouraged to contact Senator Reed’s office.  Over the last several years, farmers markets have sprouted up across the Ocean State and Rhode Island is now home to 55 farmers markets, as well as other direct-to-consumer agriculture operations.  A comprehensive farmers market directory of locations and hours may be found at: http://www.farmfresh.org/food/farmersmarkets.php

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