The Republic Food Enterprise Center (RFEC) seeks to meet the nutritional needs of Fayette County, PA and the Southwestern Pennsylvanian region by establishing a facility to promote the development of food-related enterprises. The project, run by the Fayette County Community Action Agency, aims to influence a number of elements of the regional food supply chain, including:
- Establishing and stabilizing facility to store fresh-produce for year-round value-added products
- Building partnerships with multiple end-market organizations grocery chains, restaurant chains, food banks, school districts
- Developing partnerships as other food centers are established
- Collaborating with aggregators to streamline distribution and logistics
- Sharing broad financial success with growers
- Working with area Buy Local” program to get fresh produce and value-added products to six local Farmer’s Markets
- Establishing an independent retail outlet site where products can be purchased locally
The RFEC processing facility itself generates a number of possibilities, including the ability to:
- Store fresh produce
- Make value-added products to be available year-round
- Meet challenges of aggregation, distribution, processing, storage and marketing of foods
The project was highlighted in an article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, “Nonprofit to turn center into food processing, packing plant for Western Pa. region.”