Food Processing in the Greater Capital Region

Food Processing is turning fresh foods, such as produce, meats, poultry, dairy, and grains, into food products. Food Processing can enhance the economic value of fresh food, extend shelf life of food, and make cooking food convenient and quick. Processing can occur on the farm in which the food is grown or at a mobile-processing facility. Food Processing has made a significant impact to New York’s economy. New York had 2,508 food and beverage plants in 2015, which makes New York the second largest food and beverage manufacturing state in the US. The processing of fresh foods has run into many problems such as climate change, work force development issues, infrastructure, and profit margin issues. Over time, there has been a halt to the expansion of the processing market in New York due to shortage of skilled labor for harvesting and processing. The infrastructure to buying, upgrading, and/or expanding a processing facility has been known to expensive. The small margin of profits has made the business of process unattractive. The focus of this study was to find and interview local food processors in the greater capital region in hopes in developing a solution to the economic slowing of the processing market