Puget Sound Food Processing Facilities
Northwest Agricultural Business Center (NABC)
NABC was created in 2006 as a response to a critical need for a single regional business support organization focusing on practical, hands-on technical assistance for the development and expansion of new and existing agricultural businesses. NABC is involved in producing or supporting value-added products and services that support profitability for small and mid-sized farms in the region served by NABC. The NABC, as a multi-county organization including is positioned to take advantage of economies of scale, linking knowledge and financial resources across county lines.
Business Model
The Northwest Agriculture Business Center (NABC) is working to develop regional processing facilities that include:
- A regional processing center that will be used by local farms and related businesses to manufacture value-added products for market
- Cold storage and warehousing facilities
- Satellite produce handling and processing facilities that allow farmers to form cooperative production arrangements to be able to provide sufficient quantities of produce to reach the scale needed for market participation
- Facilities that will support the start-up and expansion of new food products
- Expansion of local distributors that deliver regional products to market
- An educational connection to food production
Three satellite facilities will be developed that will source raw agricultural commodities from producers to sort, prepare, and pack, as well as for value-added processing. This product will be prepared to the specifications/requirements of local and regional retailer, restaurant, and institutional buyers. Satellites will be established in Pierce, Whatcom, and Jefferson counties. The satellite facilities would include commercial kitchens for product development and small-scale processing services. Goals of these satellites will be to:
- Provide high quality locally grown and produced product to local and regional markets
- Provide raw materials for the regional processing center
- Improve participating producer profitability by capturing more economic value for their raw commodity products
- Provide a missing and critical component of the local sustainable food system
- Enhance community access to healthy, nutritious food and improve local food security
- Provide training that aids the community in ending hunger, establishing a secure food network and improving the nutrition and health in vulnerable populations
