SEQUIM — Economic development officials want to know if building a Food Enterprise Center will boost the local economy.
A survey to identify potential users and their needs is circulating in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap and Island counties.
A public meeting to discuss the feasibility study and showcase a similar food processing venture in Denver is scheduled at the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Center in Blyn at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
The tribal center is just off U.S. Highway 101 east of the 7 Cedars Casino and is accessible by taking Blyn X-ing Road.
The survey is available at the Clallam County Economic Development Council’s Web site, www.clallam.org.
The survey is also available by phoning the Clallam County Extension Office, 360-417-2280.
Commercial kitchen
The Food Enterprise Center would be a fully equipped, shared-use commercial kitchen with training rooms and both refrigerated and dry food storage.
It would be licensed and insured.
Anyone in Jefferson, Clallam, Kitsap and Island counties with a food product — caterers, bakers, manufacturers, growers — could rent the space.
The food center would also be affiliated with a local business incubator, the food science department at Washington State University and other economic development efforts.
Curtis Beus, WSU Extension Service director for Clallam County, is overseeing the feasibility study.
“We want a kitchen incubator that can create local jobs, showcase local chefs and food processors, provide training opportunities for low-income individuals — and possibly incubate an entire industry, raising food manufacturing in the region to the next level,” Beus said.
He said there are commercial kitchens available in the area — mostly church and grange facilities — but access is limited, and many are under-equipped.
Since building an individual processing center is cost-prohibitive, that often leaves producers with no choice but to send their products out of state, he added.
Keeping it at home
Keeping that work in Clallam County could have a significant impact on the economy, Beus said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture places the value of farm products in Clallam at $7 million.
