Amy’s Kitchen, one of the nation’s largest prepared organic food producers, announced last May that it would invest $63 million in the development of an East Coast facility in Greenville, S.C., and generate about 700 jobs over the course of six years, according to the Greenville (S.C.) Small Business Development Center.
The impact of that investment is now being felt in Western North Carolina. Local farmers will be gathering the morning of Monday, Nov. 28, to meet with John Aselage, Amy’s organic purchasing manager. The meeting is being hosted by Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and North Carolina Cooperative Extension
The new facility in Greenville, SC. is projected to begin operating in the summer of 2012. According to the meeting organizers, Amy’s is very interested in sourcing local organic products to be used in the Greenville plant. Aselage will discuss Amy’s Kitchen’s standards for production and processing, and procedures for getting into the company’s supply chain.
The meetng is open to growers (organic, transitioning or growers interested in organic), processors, researchers, crop consultants and those interested in organic food production in the region. For information about the meeting, contact Karen McSwain at 828-423-2463 or email karen@carolinafarmstewards.org.
