Ontario food processing plant to open next year

The 15,000-square-foot Northumberland Niche Food Processing Facility, in Colborne, will be available for small-batch processing, packaging and storage of food by summer 2014.

The idea for the plant is from a partnership between the County of Northumberland and the Eastern Ontario Development Program (EODP).

Refrigeration and freezer cold storage​

Arlene Dorland, president of the Northumberland Federation of Agriculture said the facility will support second-source revenues from farming operations with a focus on fruits and vegetables.

“Having a processing facility nearby saves farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars in value-adding equipment costs, encourages crop diversification and demonstrates to young people how farming is the past, present and future of employment in Canada​,” she told The Northumberland News.

The plant is available for rental, refrigeration and freezer cold storage as well as having an educational and meeting space.

Extend seasonality of fruits​

Food producers can extend the seasonality of locally-grown fruits and vegetables through its packaging and freezing processes.

The construction of the facility is partly funded by a $200k Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) grant to buy processing equipment.

Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough, Prince Edward/Lennox and Addington, Trenval, and North and Central Hastings and South Algonquin CFDCs provided an additional $20k in non-repayable contributions to match Northumberland CFDC’s $100k for the purchase of equipment.

Farmers can explore secondary sources of income by processing their own products into ready-to-eat jams, jellies and sauces.

Northumberland County will lease the facility from Real Flex, which is funding the construction of the plant and will own it.