From left: Jaime Battiste, Member of Parliament for Sydney-Victoria; Adrian White, Board Member, Invest Nova Scotia; Wynn MacNeil, Chair of the Board of Directors, Cape Breton Food Hub; Alicia Lake, Executive Director, Cape Breton Food Hub; Carla Arsenault, President and CEO, Cape Breton Partnership.
Cape Breton Food Hub to expand links between food producers and consumers
Bras d’Or, NS – Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency - Canada’s food and beverage industry has been hit hard by COVID-19. The Government of Canada is taking significant action to help the industry through this difficult period, and is committed to giving businesses the tools they need to be part of our economic recovery and emerge stronger and more competitive than before. Innovation is essential to making this a reality, which is why the government is working closely with producers and organizations to help them sustain and create jobs and increase production.
Federal support helping small farmers and agri-food producers across Cape Breton to sustain and create jobs and increase production
Jaime Battiste, Member of Parliament for Sydney-Victoria, on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, today announced a non-repayable ACOA investment of $556,935 in the Pan Cape Breton Food Hub Co-operative Limited. The funding will expand the organization’s services and product lines, including the upgrade of a certified food processing, storage and distributing facility. It will also support a two-year pilot program to analyze the impact of season-extension equipment (high tunnels) on farm growth and productivity.
Local farm produce will be processed, frozen and stored at the updated facility. New products and meal kits will also be developed in a commercial kitchen, which will function as an innovation center for business, product development and training. This will allow the Cape Breton Food Hub to operate year round, extend the season for fresh produce and expand the type of foods producers can offer.
Today’s announcement is further proof of the Government of Canada’s commitment to Canadian food and beverage-based businesses – helping them not just survive, but thrive. Initiatives like these will help get Canadians back to work and ensure that our food sector can play a major role in Canada’s economic recovery.
Source : Canada.ca