In 2011, Planwest staff prepared the Eel River Valley Regional Food Collaborative Business Plan (ERVRFC) which identified the development, operation and management costs and benefits for an Eel River Valley based food aggregation, storage, packaging and shipping facility. Many local food producers generate insufficient quantities individually to justify shipping their products out of Humboldt County, but it is evident that extra‐county markets are looking for the type of fruits, vegetables, meats, and specialty products that are produced in our region’s pristine conditions. The Plan included potential users and contributors, market and management research, and collaborative functions including food aggregation, storage, processing and shipping. Extensive interviews and industry outreach were conducted by Planwest staff to understand the complex food distribution network of the region. The business plan described the potential for the ERVRFC to serve as a bridge between high quality North Coast agricultural producers and the more than 5 million residents and visitors that make up the Northern California consumer market.
City of Rio Dell – Eel River Valley Regional Food Collaborative Business Plan (2011)
In 2011, Planwest staff prepared the Eel River Valley Regional Food Collaborative Business Plan (ERVRFC) which identifies the development, operation and management costs and benefits for an Eel River Valley based food aggregation, storage, packaging and shipping facility serving the entire region. The Plan included potential users and contributors, market and management research, and collaborative functions including food aggregation, storage, processing and shipping. Extensive interviews and industry outreach were conducted to understand the complex food distribution network of the region. The Plan described the potential for the ERVRFC to serve as a bridge between high quality North Coast agricultural producers and the more than 5 million residents and visitors that make up the Northern California consumer market.
The Plan defined aggregating, packaging and branding of local products, coordinating shipping efforts with the existing out of county distribution network, and how a new facility could help food producers maximize local market capacity and send products to a far larger market through the ERVRFC. Planwest researched and documented positive effects of distinctive packaging in industry standard quantities trading on the ‘made in’ Humboldt County cachet to expand a small but distinctive market presence. This identity, based on high quality standards, organic certification, and diverse product mix has a ready market in rest of Northern California. Planwest prepared financial information including start-up capital investment costs and projected operating and management costs. Additionally, a schematic for an approximately 20,000 square foot food collaborative facility was prepared.