Creating regional food system platforms:

• Economic

• Management

• Workforce

• Political

Building a public / private incubator:

• Utilizing non-traditional funding sources to build

• Support from corporate sources to launch

• Integration of private investment to grow

Model is a REPRODUCIBLE hub and spoke system:

• Individual Quick Frozen (IQF) plant as hub

• Smaller, appropriate-scale plants nearby: vegetables, meat, poultry, dairy

• Integrated, mutually-supportive management

• Development of community-access commercial kitchens

• Deploy a range of ‘entry points’ for farmers and food entrepreneurs

Replication/integration of hub and spoke model:

• Create case studies in a specific geography

• Share funding/management experience regionally

• Hubs coordinate and market jointly

Goal is local ownership:

• Businesses spun off to local control after launch

• Co-op

• ESOP

Current status:

• About 75% committed of $3 million needed

• Business planner in pipeline

• Initial job descriptions in place

Possibilities:

• Emphasizing the economic development possibilities of local foods sold regionally

• Rapid reproduction of this system to create jobs

• Develop economic platforms for rural communities

• Integration of local foods with biomass and alternative energy sources

Contact:

• Rick Terrien, Iowa County Area Economic Development

• rickt@iowacountyedc.org

• 608 341 6797