People living in Stafford County know that this county has an abundance of raw materials.
We are agriculturally focused.
We have everything from orchards, a tree farm, a flour mill, watermelons, honey, vegetables and several farms producing high-quality meat and dairy products to name a few. However, there are still just a few farm to table products developed within Stafford County.
The reason for this has to do with available facilities and also the cost of setting up manufacturing. There are opportunities to get support from places like Land of Kansas that help support local small food producers (https://www.fromthelandofkansas.com/) with advice on setup, labeling, and even have a marketplace to sell products they support.
Hudson Cream Flour ships flour to biscuit makers and bakeries. We have the ability to not only create products within our own communities but because Hudson Cream Flour ships anywhere in the U.S. and with the market access the internet give us today through platforms like etsy.com., it would be great to see Stafford County products in stores across the U.S. and around the world.
What about salsa? What about cheese? What about jelly for your PB and J? What if you created those things?
That’s why Stafford County Economic Development is working on a pilot project to support Farm to Table Food Processors. We will be launching this pilot project soon to 1) locate all the people and businesses developing value-added food products, 2) provide mentoring through the business plan/product development process, 3) connect these entrepreneurs or businesses to food processing resource experts (production, packaging and marketing), and 4) help them make connections with sales channels in and outside of the county.
If you have a desire to create a food product for commercial purposes, please reach out to us. We want to hear from you. Whether you want to create a product or support the pilot project as a partner business, please reach out to Ryan Russell at [email protected] or 620-314-5561.
