About this workshop: A farmer-to-farmer workshop and roundtable on creating value-added products from your produce, and making the most of the equipment and resources available to grow your business and extend your season. Featuring a presentation from Joel Mowery (Smokin J’s Fiery Foods), and a facility tour of WNC FoodWorks, a nonprofit food business incubator and production facility located at the WNC Farmers Market.
What you’ll learn: How to get started making (or scale up an existing home production of) value added foods such as jams, jellies, pickles, hot sauces, syrups, pies, etc. that diversify your market offerings & revenue streams, make high-value products out of less-than-perfect produce, and prevent food waste.
You’ll hear from and get to talk shop with an experienced farmer who’s built a business from raw startup, to producing in a shared kitchen, to buying & outfitting his own production space just down the road from the farm.
You’ll also get a chance to talk with professional food production facility managers who can help you understand what kinds of equipment might be a good fit for products you’re considering making (or scaling up), and how to ensure that you’re following food safety best practices and minimizing risk, while maximizing the return on your time and hard-earned money.
Who should attend: Farmers who are either looking to start selling value-added products, or wanting to scale up an existing home production.
Cost: Nothing! This is a free workshop, made possible through a collaboration between ASAP, Mountain BizWorks, and the Center for Agricultural & Food Entrepreneurship, and funded via a grant from the Southern Risk Management Education Center.
